The Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty sign at its headquarters in Prague, Czechia, 27 March 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE/MARTIN DIVISEK
A US district judge has ordered the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to disburse the congressionally appointed funds to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for June, the latest chapter in an ongoing legal struggle between the two media groups.
In a judgment issued on Wednesday, Judge Royce Lamberth of the US District Court for the District of Columbia granted RFE/RL’s request for a temporary restraining order in its lawsuit against USAGM, its parent organisation.
The ruling comes as RFE/RL marks 75 years on Friday since its first test broadcast beyond the Iron Curtain to audiences in Czechoslovakia on 4 July 1950.
In his decision, Lamberth stated this was the third time he had been forced to step in against USAGM’s “illegal action” in mid-March of terminating federal grants for broadcasters like RFE/RL, Voice of America, and Radio Free Asia, which had received such funding for nearly 80 years.
RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said Wednesday: “This ruling is the latest in a series of significant legal victories compelling USAGM to release funding necessary for our vital work”, adding that “RFE/RL’s value has been proven time and again throughout its 75-year history”.
Speaking on the Ask Dr. Drew podcast on Wednesday, the Trump-appointed USAGM Senior Advisor Kari Lake responded to the decision by claiming that: “Starting in October, President Trump wants us to eliminate the agency, so I’m working to effectuate that as well. Our tax dollars could be spent more wisely elsewhere, and especially since this agency is not in alignment with our long-term interests and our national policy.”
RFE/RL has been locked in a legal battle with Trump administration officials since USAGM’s grant termination in March, continuing its work while furloughing dozens of employees and revoking freelance contracts. In late May, the European Union provided €5.5 million in short-term emergency funding, after it became clear that the broadcaster was in imminent danger of shutting down.