US court orders “Radio Liberty” to pay Congress-approved funds for April

A US District Court has ordered the Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to provide Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) with funds for April that were approved by Congress.

The relevant decision is published on the courtʼs website.

The court concluded that USAGMʼs refusal to pay the funds on the same terms on which it had paid them for the previous month was "arbitrary and capricious".

The court rejected USAGM’s argument that the agency could withhold funds until Radio Liberty signed a grant agreement that imposed illegal and unenforceable conditions on its operations. Judge Lambert found that USAGM’s actions threatened Radio Liberty’s very existence.

“Today’s decision ordering USAGM to allocate a monthly amount from RFE/RL’s annual budget, as determined by Congress, means our journalists will be able to continue their work holding dictators and despots accountable,” said Radio Liberty President Steven Kapus.

What preceded

On March 14, the US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reduce the activities of seven government agencies, including USAGM. It is in charge of foreign broadcasting and oversees, among others, the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This was followed by an announcement that the US Congress approved a grant that finances the activities of these media outlets.

All Voice of America employees have been placed on administrative leave. This includes more than 1 300 journalists, producers, and support staff.

After that, Voice of America employees sued the US Agency for Global Media. They stated that the closure of media outlets funded by the US government violates the right to freedom of speech and journalism, which is guaranteed by the US Constitution. In mid-April, a US court ordered the Trump administration to restore Voice of America.

• Earlier, American billionaire and head of the new US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Elon Musk called for the closure of Radio Liberty and Voice of America. At the time, he said that no one listens to Radio Liberty and Voice of America, and called these media outlets “crazy left-wing radicals who talk to themselves, burning $1 billion a year of US taxpayer money”. The US government has historically portrayed Voice of America as a counterweight to foreign propaganda and a model of free, honest, truthful news coverage.

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