Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty sue over grant termination
USAGM on Saturday informed RFE/RL, along with Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, that it would terminate grants supporting their global news operations effective immediately, sparking global outrage as critics questioned the implications of the move for the future of the free press under the Trump administration.
The sudden termination came on the heels of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump late Friday calling for the elimination of the 'non-statutory components' of several government entities, including USAGM.
In its suit, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty argues that funding its operations is a 'statutory function' of USAGM. It further alleges that the agency's refusal to disburse the federally allocated funds violates federal law, as RFE/RL is funded by Congress through USAGM to promote the free flow of information worldwide.
'Whether to disburse funds as directed by appropriations laws, and whether to make those funds available through grants as directed by the International Broadcasting Act, is not an optional choice for the agency to make. It is the law,' RFE/RL argues in the filing.
The suit also names Kari Lake, Trump-appointed special adviser to USAGM, and Victor Morales, acting chief executive officer of the agency.
USAGM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President and CEO Stephen Capus on Saturday decried the grant termination, saying it 'would be a massive gift to America's enemies.'
Indeed, the move immediately drew triumphant responses from China and Russia, which designated RFE/RL and VOA as foreign agents in 2017. RFE was founded during the Cold War to deliver unfettered news beyond the Iron Curtain.
But Capus emphasized on Tuesday that the organization would not go down without a fight.
'This is not the time to cede terrain to the propaganda and censorship of America's adversaries,' Capus wrote in a press release on the suit. 'We believe the law is on our side and the celebration of our demise by despots around the world is premature.'
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