A US judge has ruled that the effective shutdown of the VOA last year was “illegal” and has directed the return of many of its journalists.
Judicial Mandate Sets 7-Day Deadline
District Court Judge Royce Lamberth has granted the government one week to restore the broadcaster's operations.
Wartime Roots and Trump-Era Shutdown
The VOA was originally established during World War Two to combat Nazi disinformation.
Only a short time after being sworn in again as president, Donald Trump signed an presidential directive to defund the broadcaster, which his officials accused of left-wing bias. The order also included networks such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, calling for them to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law”.
Management Shake-Up and Mass Dismissals
President Trump named Kari Lake to run the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the oversight body that oversees and funds the VOA and other networks.
Lake then terminate the vast majority of the agency's employees—over 1,000 staff at VOA alone—leaving just a small number of employees remaining.
Most of the dismissed staff have been on paid administrative leave since last year. This included Persian Service reporters who were temporarily|called back to work after Israel attacked Iran last June.
Court’s Reasoning and Decision
Last week, Judge Lamberth found that Lake did not have the legal power to suspend the operations of the USAGM workforce, as she had not been confirmed by the US Senate.
In Tuesday's decision, the federal judge labeled the decision to sack the journalists as “arbitrary and capricious,”, adding that the government had failed to consider legislation that dictate what languages and regions the VOA must serve.
“The government have provided nothing approaching a principled basis for their decision,” Lamberth stated in his opinion.
Journalists’ Lawsuit and Response
Three VOA journalists had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. One of them, Patsy Widakuswara, expressed being deeply grateful for the judge's decision.
“We hope the American people will keep support our mission to produce journalism, not propaganda,” she said to the Associated Press.
Unclear Future and Broader Implications
It is uncertain if Lake's nominated successor, Sarah Rogers—whose appointment needs Senate confirmation—will appeal.
Prior to its shutdown, the VOA broadcast TV, radio, and digital content in nearly 50 languages.
Trump's criticisms of the VOA form part of his wider attacks against the US media, which research indicates American news consumers view as highly polarised.
