Voice of America filed a lawsuit late Friday accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully shutting down the news organisation.
The Voice of America sought the court’s intervention to reinstate the news service, which has historically provided information about the United States to global audiences, particularly in regions lacking press freedom, New York Post reported.
“In many parts of the world, a crucial source of objective news is gone, and only censored state-sponsored news media is left to fill the void,” the lawsuit said.
The legal action, submitted to US District Court in New York, represents Voice of America journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and several unions challenging the US Agency for Global Media and Kari Lake, Trump’s appointed representative.
Established during World War II, Voice of America serves as an independent news source, broadcasting to countries under authoritarian rule. It receives Congressional funding and operates under a charter ensuring journalistic standards.
The legal document alleges unlawful closure by the Trump administration within the past week. Conservative critics have alleged left-wing bias in its reporting, though management disputes these claims as unfounded.
“The second Trump administration has taken a chainsaw to the agency as a whole in an attempt to shutter it completely,” the lawsuit said.
The U.S. Agency for Global Media, which supervises Voice of America and related networks, had not responded to comment requests on Friday.
During a Newsmax interview, Lake characterised Voice of America as “like having a rotten fish and trying to find a portion that you can eat.”
On X, she described the Agency for Global Media as “a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer — a national security risk for the nation — and irretrievably broken. While there are bright spots within the agency with personnel who are talented and dedicated public servants, this is the exception rather than the rule.”
Clayton Weimers, who leads Reporters Without Borders in the United States, explained their involvement as necessary to defend Voice of America and broader press freedoms.
