A US judge has determined that the effective shuttering of the VOA last year was unlawful and has commanded the return of hundreds of its journalists.
Court Order Sets One-Week Timeline
Federal Judge Royce Lamberth has given authorities seven days to put the international broadcaster back on air.
Wartime Roots and Trump-Era Shutdown
The VOA was originally established in World War Two to counter Nazi disinformation.
Only a short time after being sworn in again as president, Donald Trump signed an presidential directive to shut down the broadcaster, which his administration 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 Widespread Dismissals
President Trump named Kari Lake to head the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the oversight body that manages and finances the VOA and related networks.
Lake then sack over 85 percent of the agency's employees—over 1,000 staff at VOA by itself—with only a small number of employees in their jobs.
Most of the affected 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 Rationale and Decision
Last week, Judge Lamberth found that Lake lacked the legal power to suspend the operations of the USAGM workforce, as she had not been approved by the US Senate.
In this week's ruling, the federal judge described the decision to sack the journalists as “arbitrary and capricious,”, adding that the government had ignored laws that determine what languages and regions the VOA must serve.
“The government have provided nothing approaching a principled basis for their decision,” Lamberth stated in his opinion.
Journalists’ Legal Challenge and Reaction
Three VOA journalists had sued the Trump administration. One of them, Patsy Widakuswara, expressed being deeply grateful for the judge's decision.
“We hope the American people will keep support our mission to produce factual reporting, not biased messaging,” she told the Associated Press.
Unclear Future and Wider Implications
It is not clear if Lake's nominated successor, Sarah Rogers—whose appointment requires Senate confirmation—will challenge the ruling.
Prior to its shutdown, the VOA broadcast TV, radio, and digital content in nearly 50 languages.
Trump's attacks of the VOA form part of his broader criticism of the US media, which research indicates American news consumers view as deeply divided.
