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Eugene

(65,990 posts) Wed Jul 30, 2025, 07:03 PM 23 hrs ago

Judge orders Trump administration to explain why order to restore Voice of America wasn't followed

Source: Associated Press

A federal judge on Wednesday essentially accused the Trump administration of ignoring his orders to restore Voice of America’s operations and explain clearly what it is doing with the government-run operation that provides news to other countries.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth of the District of Columbia gave the administration until Aug. 13 to explain how it will get VOA working again. The outlet that dates back to World War II has been largely dark since March.

Lamberth said the administration needs to show what it is doing with the $260 million Congress appropriated for VOA’s operations this year.

Kari Lake, the adviser appointed by Trump to run the government news agencies, said in June that 85% of employees at VOA and its overseers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media had lost their jobs. She called it a “long overdue effort to dismantle a bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy.”

-snip-

By DAVID BAUDER
Updated 6:27 PM EDT, July 30, 2025

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/voa-voice-america-media-trump-administration-b60d40621f41b2ff4460803de4e0142f

16 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

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Judge orders Trump administration to explain why order to restore Voice of America wasn't followed (Original Post) Eugene 23 hrs ago OP

Kari Lake choie 23 hrs ago #1

Your order was not followed Zorro 23 hrs ago #2

Exactly !!! aggiesal 23 hrs ago #3

More accurately, TomSlick 23 hrs ago #4

Right. What can the judge do if Trump ignores this order? Probably nothing. And Trump knows that. thesquanderer 23 hrs ago #5

This is the Great Erosion of the Checks and Balances BaronChocula 23 hrs ago #6

Testing the waters for the big one bluestarone 23 hrs ago #7

Elections are run by states. eggplant 22 hrs ago #10

Don't they still popsdenver 23 hrs ago #8

Needs to be happening CONSTANTLY, with every single fucking order they've disobeyed. Karasu 22 hrs ago #9

From Steve Herman: mahatmakanejeeves 22 hrs ago #11

Here's what I'm thinking.... Dyedinthewoolliberal 22 hrs ago #12

Because the trump administration didn't like. republianmushroom 21 hrs ago #13

Because he is not going to Hornedfrog2000 13 hrs ago #14

We will/are losing the rule of law. This is autocracy. Timeflyer 10 hrs ago #15

Easy - he's a fascist dictator who recognizes no authority other than himself and Pooty. lark 10 hrs ago #16

choie

(5,890 posts)

1. Kari Lake

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 07:08 PM

23 hrs ago

another fox guarding the hen house.

Zorro

(17,722 posts)

2. Your order was not followed

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 07:10 PM

23 hrs ago

because we don't want to follow it and you can't make us. Pfffft!

aggiesal

(10,203 posts)

3. Exactly !!!

Reply to Zorro (Reply #2)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 07:16 PM

23 hrs ago

TomSlick

(12,623 posts)

4. More accurately,

Reply to Zorro (Reply #2)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 07:20 PM

23 hrs ago

"Your order was not followed because we don't want to follow it and we're a betting you won't do anything to make us."

thesquanderer

(12,696 posts)

5. Right. What can the judge do if Trump ignores this order? Probably nothing. And Trump knows that.

Reply to Zorro (Reply #2)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 07:20 PM

23 hrs ago

Our system of government depends on voluntary compliance, an implicit agreement to follow the rules. But Trump has never felt bound by rules for their own sake. If there are no consequences (and sometimes even if there could be), he does what he wants.

BaronChocula

(3,040 posts)

6. This is the Great Erosion of the Checks and Balances

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 07:21 PM

23 hrs ago

Who's going to force him?

bluestarone

(20,000 posts)

7. Testing the waters for the big one

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 07:33 PM

23 hrs ago

HE's getting ready to turn our country upside down. To me the big one will be in November 2026. He will not listen, or agree with any court order concerning the election. If you disagree, then i use this as an example. TSF and his house and senate robots say we will have NO more elections. (Supreme Court puts it on their calendar for hell, let say (at their rate of speed) February 2027. Question here is WHO will stop that?

eggplant

(4,104 posts)

10. Elections are run by states.

Reply to bluestarone (Reply #7)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 08:14 PM

22 hrs ago

They are the ones who choose their elected representatives, not the current administration.

popsdenver

(84 posts)

8. Don't they still

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 07:40 PM

23 hrs ago

broadcast FOX exclusively, over any other news, on the Armed Services Network thru out the world???????

Karasu

(1,710 posts)

9. Needs to be happening CONSTANTLY, with every single fucking order they've disobeyed.

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 08:06 PM

22 hrs ago

Never, ever let them off the hook. Force them to defend this shit.

mahatmakanejeeves

(65,941 posts)

11. From Steve Herman:

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 08:19 PM

22 hrs ago

Steve Herman
‪@w7voa.journa.host.ap.brid.gy‬

Follow
A federal judge is ordering Kari Lake and USAGM, by Aug. 13, to provide the court with a detailed plan for the Voice of America’s restructuring, the current employee count and how much VOA programming is actually being produced and what steps they've taken to inform Congress of their activities.

July 30, 2025 at 12:24 PM

A federal judge is ordering Kari Lake and USAGM, by Aug. 13, to provide the court with a detailed plan for the Voice of Americaâ€™s restructuring, the current employee count and how much VOA programming is actually being produced and what steps they've taken to inform Congress of their activities.
— Steve Herman (@w7voa.journa.host.ap.brid.gy) 2025-07-30T16:20:56.000Z

Steve Herman
‪@w7voa.journa.host.ap.brid.gy‬

Follow
"The defendants need to explain how they are spending the hundreds of millions of dollars appropriated to VOA to carry out its statutory mandate with news and broadcasting operations—without simply parroting back the amount of money being paid for furloughed employees to do nothing.” - US […]
Original post on journa.host
journa.host
July 30, 2025 at 12:47 PM

"The defendants need to explain how they are spending the hundreds of millions of dollars appropriated to VOA to carry out its statutory mandate with news and broadcasting operationsâ€”without simply parroting back the amount of money being paid for furloughed employees to do nothing.â€ - US [â€¦]
— Steve Herman (@w7voa.journa.host.ap.brid.gy) 2025-07-30T16:46:13.000Z

Steve Herman
‪@w7voa.journa.host.ap.brid.gy‬

Follow
Here’s the full order to Kari Lake/USAGM to show cause, issued by US District Court Judge Lamberth:

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.278809/gov.uscourts.dcd.278809.62.0.pdf

July 30, 2025 at 12:59 PM

Hereâ€™s the full order to Kari Lake/USAGM to show cause, issued by US District Court Judge Lamberth: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.278809/gov.uscourts.dcd.278809.62.0.pdf
— Steve Herman (@w7voa.journa.host.ap.brid.gy) 2025-07-30T16:55:53.000Z

Dyedinthewoolliberal

(16,141 posts)

12. Here's what I'm thinking....

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Wed Jul 30, 2025, 08:25 PM

22 hrs ago

since the FSC (think about it ) has ruled he has immunity from just about anything related to his duties, he can just not follow the direction of the court and in effect, thumb his nose at everyone. We need the big brains of the Democratic Party, the disillusioned Republicans, Independents, Progressives and former Presidents to come up with a way to return to the FSC and get that ruling reversed. Otherwise, he is gonna shit all over everything. With impunity.