Donald Trump just lost again
When it comes to wreaking havoc with Voice of America (VOA), Donald Trump first tried to get fellow conspiracy theorist Kari Lake to run it (to the ground). Then, last month, I wrote about how Trump abandoned that plan in favor of a more overtly fascist one, which involves dismantling it altogether. Fortunately, there has been another development, and it is not something Trump wants to hear.
Reagan-appointed U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth issued a preliminary injunction this week. He ordered the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), VOA’s parent agency, to restore VOA and other media outlets and allow them to continue their legally mandated role as “consistently reliable and authoritative” news sources. Judge Lamberth slammed the Trump administration for taking “immediate and drastic action to slash USAGM” in a “straightforward display of arbitrary and capricious actions” without any “method or approach… that this Court can discern.”
In his order, Judge Lamberth noted that thanks to the Trump administration’s wrecking-ball executive order on March 14, this is the first time in VOA’s 80-year history in which there is no news reporting, while the website has stopped being updated and the radio stations have gone dark or play music.
As this case plays out, VOA—and truth—will be allowed to continue business as usual. Over 1,300 employees, including around 1,000 journalists, are being reinstated. As one VOA journalist told Axios: “My colleagues and I are grateful for this ruling. But we know that this is just a small step forward, as the government is likely to appeal.” Stay tuned.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month