Radio Liberty escapes closure, but probably not for long
27 March 17:41
The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) has reversed its earlier decision to cut off funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). This was officially announced by Carrie Lake, Senior Advisor to the head of the agency, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The background of the conflict is that on March 15, USAGM decided to terminate the grant agreement with the media organization. However, Radio Liberty filed a lawsuit, and after court intervention, the agency was forced to withdraw its decision. on March 26, a US court suspended the process of closing Radio Liberty and issued a restraining order.
The court ruling explicitly stated that the USAGM’s actions to terminate the grant appeared to be “arbitrary and capricious.” The court emphasized that the implementation of the original decision would have caused “irreparable harm” to the broadcaster.
It is important to note that by reversing the decision to terminate the grant, USAGM reserved the right to reconsider the funding issue in the future. This means that the conflict may continue.
As of today, the grant agreement has been renewed, and Radio Liberty continues to operate. However, the agreement expires on September 30 this year, and it is very likely that a new agreement will not be concluded.
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Radio Liberty vs. the Trump Administration
On March 14, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to cut seven federal agencies, including the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty media corporation, Voice of America, and some other media outlets.
After that, it became known that the grant approved by Congress that finances the activities of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was terminated.
In this regard, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty filed a lawsuit against the USAGM and its officials Kari Lake and Victor Morales. The goal is to block the decision to terminate the federal grant that funds the organization’s activities.
In its court complaint, RFE/RL argued that the denial of funding violates US federal laws. In particular, it was argued that Congress has exclusive power over the allocation of budgetary funds, and the USAGM’s decision to terminate the grant contradicts the US Constitution.
“Now is not the time to give way to propaganda and censorship by America’s enemies. We believe that the law is on our side and that the celebration of our demise by despots around the world is premature,” said RFE/RL President Stephen Capus.
About Radio Free Europe and its funding
RFE/RL is an independent international media organization that provides access to objective information in countries where freedom of speech is under threat. It reaches nearly 50 million listeners in 23 countries, including
- russia;
- Ukraine;
- Iran
- Afghanistan
- Pakistan;
- Countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus.
RFE/RL is funded through the United States Agency for International Development (USAGM) with funds appropriated by the U.S. Congress.
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