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As US Bombs Iran, a Judge Rules on the Battle for Hearts and Minds

Columbia Journalism Review · Jem Bartholomew · last updated

A federal court says Kari Lake didn’t have legal standing to gut federally funded broadcasters such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe.

On Saturday, a federal judge ruled that Kari Lake, who has been leading the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM)—which oversees congressionally funded news outlets including Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and Radio Free Asia—was elevated to the position of acting CEO unlawfully. The judge declared her mass layoffs at VOA and others last year null and void.

From the beginning, there was a stark imbalance between Lake’s dubious authority and her sweeping actions at USAGM. The chief executive of USAGM requires Senate confirmation, but Trump never nominated Lake for the role. Instead, last March, he named her the senior adviser to Victor Morales, who was then the acting chief executive, and who immediately delegated his authority to her. Then, in July, she was formally elevated to acting CEO, without congressional approval. Lake, a MAGA loyalist and former TV journalist, who has cast herself as “Trump in heels,” caused confusion last year by referring to herself, variously, as deputy CEO and acting CEO. (She gave up the acting CEO position on November 19 but remains at USAGM.)

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