Federal judge blocks Trump administration from removing Voice of America director

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from removing Michael Abramowitz as director of Voice of America, the government-run news outlet that the White House has targeted for deep staffing cuts.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President Ronald Reagan, ruled that Abramowitz cannot be removed from his position without the approval of the majority of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board.

In June, layoff notices were sent to more than 600 employees of Voice of America and the government agency that oversees it. Abramowitz was placed on administrative leave along with almost the entire Voice of America staff. He was told he would be fired effective Aug. 31.

Lamberth concluded that firing Abramowitz would be “plainly contrary to law.”

“The defendants’ own representations, in and out of court, indicate that they have already effectively removed Abramowitz from his role as director,” the judge wrote.

Kari Lake, whom President Donald Trump named as a senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, told a congressional panel that the agency is “rotten to the core.” The agency also houses Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba.

The networks, which together reach an estimated 427 million people, date to the Cold War and are part of a network of government-funded organizations trying to extend U.S. influence and combat authoritarianism.

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