Trump Officials Have Not Funded Radio Free Europe, Despite Court Order
Source: New York Times
Trump Officials Have Not Funded Radio Free Europe, Despite Court Order
The delay in disbursement has forced the news organization, which relies almost exclusively on congressional funding, to furlough some of its staff and cut parts of its programming.
Satellite contracts for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have also been canceled, potentially hampering the delivery of its Russian-language programs, two officials at the news organization said.Credit...Martin Divisek/EPA, via Shutterstock
By Minho Kim
Reporting from Washington
April 4, 2025, 1:04 a.m. ET
The Trump administration has failed to disburse congressionally approved funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the news network originally set up to counter Soviet propaganda during the Cold War, despite a judge’s order to keep it operating, according to court filings and officials at the news organization.
The news group, known as RFE/RL, has not received nearly $12 million for its April funding from the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the federal entity overseeing it. The unusual delay in the disbursement has forced the news organization, which relies almost exclusively on congressional funding, to furlough some of its staff and cut parts of its programming.
“We hope that U.S.A.G.M. sends our April funds immediately,” Benjamin Herman, the general counsel of the news group, said in a statement. “Our journalists across Europe and Asia, who assume enormous risk to work for RFE/RL, rely on the timely disbursement of these congressionally appropriated funds.”
The U.S. Agency for Global Media also canceled satellite contracts for RFE/RL on Thursday, potentially hampering the delivery of Russian-language programs from the news outlet, according to two RFE/RL officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matters related to an ongoing lawsuit. Around 40 partner stations in Europe that broadcast Radio Free Europe’s live programs in Russian rely on satellites.
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Minho Kim covers breaking news and climate change for The Times. He is based in Washington. More about Minho Kim
https://www.nytimes.com/by/minho-kim
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/us/politics/radio-free-europe-funding-trump.html
Hat tip, Joe.My.God.
https://www.joemygod.com/2025/04/trump-admin-defies-order-to-fund-radio-free-europe/
Trump Admin Defies Order To Fund Radio Free Europe
April 4, 2025
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