A federal judge on Friday temporarily suspended the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the voices of America, a government-funded international broadcaster.
J. Paul Oetken of the United States District Court in Manhattan, ruled from the bench during hearings on cases filed by Voice of America journalists and their unions. The lawsuit alleges that the administration's actions violated the journalists' first constitutional chief rights, including placing hundreds of journalists in the organization on paid leave.
Temporary suppression orders are valid for up to 21 days. Another lawsuit filed by Voice of America's director Michael Abramowitz is also pending.
“This is a decisive victory over freedom of the press and the First Amendment, and a sharp responsibilities to the administration for showing its complete disregard for the principles that define our democracy,” said Andrew G. Seri Jr., the lawyer for the journalist who filed the lawsuit, in a statement.
Enquiries to the leadership of Voice of America and its parents, the US global media agency, were not immediately returned.
Founded in 1942, Voice of America, It offers news programs in 49 languages to dozens of countries around the world, including places like China and Iran, where citizens are restricting access to independent journalism. Voice of America has long been considered an important element of America's soft power efforts to promote democracy abroad.
With a budget of around $270 million, Voice of America charter is designed to protect editorial independence. However, President Trump accused the station of leftist bias, and he chose close ally and former right-wing television anchor Kari Lake to serve as a special advisor to oversee the parent agency. On March 14, Trump signed an executive order directing institutions of global media to eliminate many of its functions.
Employees say they have lost access to work emails, and some of the radio frequency in Asia and the Middle East are getting dark.
Since taking office, Trump has pushed the boundaries of many of his efforts to undermine American news media. The White House has begun to prevent journalists from participating in certain events from the Associated Press, causing which media could join the press pool covering the president's actions. Trump and his allies also sued several news outlets.
Earlier this week, a federal judge in Washington temporarily blocked similar efforts by the Trump administration to shut down Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a separate government-funded broadcaster that dates back to the country's Cold War efforts to counter Soviet propaganda.
Daniel Kay contributed to the report.
