Presidential adviser Kari Lake attacked the Voice of America in Congressional testimony Wednesday. A former network official called her actions "profoundly harmful to our national interests."
Journalists who have risked their freedom to report for Voice of America and its sister news outlets wonder what happens to them now that the Trump administration has gutted their parent agency.
Trump senior advisor Kari Lake envisions the agency that includes the international broadcaster Voice of America with 81 staffers after mid-August — down from about 1,300 full-time employees and contractors.
A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from dismantling Voice of America, the federally funded overseas news outlet.
Six Voice of America journalists and a director at its parent agency have sued the Trump administration, alleging its moves to shut down the U.S.-funded network are unconstitutional.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a government-backed overseas broadcaster, sued the Trump administration in an attempt to get it to release funds appropriated by Congress.
Federal officials placed 1,300 employees at Voice of America on indefinite paid leave, while severing contracts with Radio Free Asia and other U.S.-funded networks.
U.S.-funded international networks reach more than 420 million people in more than 100 countries each week. Some network leaders fear that Kari Lake intends to cancel all funding for them.
In the White House briefing room Tuesday, the Trump administration announced its latest steps to tighten its grip on the message it sends out and the news coverage it receives.
President Trump plans to nominate a conservative critic of the mainstream media, L. Brent Bozell III, to run the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America.
If successful, Trump's move would install a loyalist at the helm of the network. A U.S. judge found Trump appointees illegally violated Voice of America's journalistic independence in his first term.
Investigators found Trump's appointee at the U.S. Agency for Global Media repeatedly abused his power. "It just takes one's breath away," says David Seide, a lawyer who represented whistleblowers.
The State Department inspector general says six executives at the U.S. Agency for Global Media were unfairly punished after they raised concerns about steps taken under Trump appointee Michael Pack.
Trump appointee Michael Pack hoped to fire top executives who challenged him at the U.S. Agency for Global Media. When he couldn't, Pack paid a high-profile law firm millions to investigate them.
Under Trump, the agency over the Voice of America stopped granting requests for visa extensions for foreign journalists to reserve jobs for Americans. The agency had cited security concerns.
