An US court has ruled that the effective shuttering of the VOA last year was unlawful and has directed the reinstatement of many of its journalists.
Court Mandate Sets One-Week Deadline
District Court Judge Royce Lamberth has granted the government seven days to put the international broadcaster back on air.
Wartime Origins and Recent Shutdown
The VOA was first established during World War Two to combat Nazi propaganda.
Only a short time after returning to office as president, Donald Trump signed an executive order to close the broadcaster, which his officials accused of left-wing bias. The order also included outlets such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, calling for them to be phased out as much as legally possible.
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 by itself—leaving just a handful of employees in their jobs.
Most of the dismissed staff have been on paid administrative leave since last year. This even applied to Persian Service reporters who were temporarily|called back to work after Israel attacked Iran last June.
Judge’s Reasoning and Decision
Last week, Judge Lamberth found that Lake lacked the authority to suspend the operations of the USAGM workforce, as she had not been approved by the US Senate.
In this week's decision, the judge described the decision to sack the journalists as unreasonable and impulsive, adding that the government had failed to consider laws that determine what languages and regions the VOA must serve.
“Defendants have provided nothing approaching a reasonable basis for their decision,” Lamberth wrote.
Journalists’ Lawsuit and Response
Three VOA journalists had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. One of them, Patsy Widakuswara, said she was profoundly thankful for the judge's decision.
“We hope the American people will keep support our mission to produce journalism, not propaganda,” she told the Associated Press.
Uncertain Next Steps and Broader Context
It is not clear if Lake's proposed successor, Sarah Rogers—whose appointment requires Senate confirmation—will appeal.
Before being wound down, the VOA broadcast TV, radio, and digital content in nearly 50 languages.
Trump's criticisms of the VOA form part of his wider criticism of the US media, which research indicates American news consumers view as highly polarised.
