NPR turns to Bush-era conservative, media advocate for Trump lawsuit
May 27 (Reuters) - National Public Radio has hired a pair of prominent lawyers at law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, including one-time Republican federal appeals court nominee Miguel Estrada, for its lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of illegally cutting public broadcasting funds.
NPR and a group of public radio stations sued the administration in federal district court in Washington on Tuesday, accusing it of trampling their rights to speech and association under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
President Donald Trump earlier this month issued an executive order to cut federal funding for NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service.
Estrada, who has argued 24 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, was nominated by Republican President George W. Bush in 2001 to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, but Senate Democrats did not allow him to advance.
He is working with Gibson Dunn's Theodore Boutrous Jr, who has represented media outlets for years in First Amendment fights. Boutrous was a lead attorney for CNN in 2018 in a lawsuit accusing the first Trump administration of unlawfully revoking a reporter's press credentials.
Boutrous in a statement said Trump's executive action against NPR was "blatantly unconstitutional" and violated the rights of the organization and its member stations.
The administration has accused, opens new tab NPR and the PBS of bias and called for an end to public funding of news media.
In a statement, a White House spokesperson said Trump was exercising his lawful power to limit funding to NPR and PBS, which is not a plaintiff.
Other Trump targets have also turned to lawyers with conservative credentials to sue the administration.
William Burck, who served as a lawyer in the George W. Bush White House, is representing Harvard University in lawsuits against the administration. Former Bush-era U.S. solicitor Paul Clement is representing WilmerHale in its lawsuit challenging Trump's executive order against the law firm.
Gibson Dunn is also representing, opens new tab the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and other clients in a pair of immigration-related lawsuits against the Trump administration.
The case is National Public Radio Inc et al v. Trump et al, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:25-cv-01674.
For NPR: Miguel Estrada, Theodore Boutrous Jr and Katie Townsend of Gibson Dunn
For Aspen Public Radio: Steven Zansberg of Zansberg Beylkin
For defendants: No appearance yet
Read more:
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Law firms hire former Tesla lawyer and top conservative litigator for Trump fight
Obama's top Supreme Court lawyer files lawsuit over Trump funding freeze
Neal Katyal, Milbank join team suing Trump over bid to oust Democratic official
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