RFE/RL – the funding saga continues with latest court ruling
The six week long saga around the funding and operation of US international broadcasting networks – Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and RFE/RL – continues. On 15 March, Voice of America went off the air, save for 5’ news bulletins that were compiled for some days. Funds from the US Agency for Global Media, USAGM, to the rest of the broadcasting entities were frozen (with the possible exception of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting).
Legal proceedings were initiated by some Voice of America to have staff reinstated and its operations restarted. RFE/RL started proceedings to have its funding, granted by the US Congress, released (USAGM had stopped releasing funds to the Prague-headquartered media company).
On 39 April, Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)’s latest request for a temporary restraining order in its lawsuit against the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
In his ruling, the judge ordered USAGM to immediately disburse RFE/RL’s congressionally appropriated funds for the month of April – over US$12m. The court concluded that USAGM’s refusal to disburse the funds on the same terms on which it disbursed the previous month’s funds was arbitrary and capricious. The court rejected USAGM’s argument that it could withhold the funds until RFE/RL signs a grant agreement placing unlawful and unworkable conditions on RFE/RL’s operations. Judge Lamberth found that USAGM’s actions “threaten the very existence” of RFE/RL.
RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said: “Today’s ruling ordering USAGM to release one month’s worth of the annual funds Congress appropriated to RFE/RL means that our journalists can continue doing their jobs holding dictators and despots accountable.
“We hope to receive April’s late payment quickly because RFE/RL was forced to furlough staff this month and cut back programming to regions crucial to American national security. Every day that USAGM withholds money further endangers our journalists, including four who are currently in prison.
“We will remain in court and look forward to working with USAGM to ensure that we’ll be paid for the rest of the fiscal year.”
Judge Lamberth’s order emphasised that Congress enacted, and President Trump signed, a law funding RFE/RL this fiscal year. He wrote: “It is, after all, Congress that makes the laws in this country. In this case, for example, it was Congress who ordained that the monies at issue should be allocated to RFE/RL.”