PROPAGANDA PURGE

Judge Rules Trump-Appointed VOA Boss Can’t Fire Any More Journalists Than He Already Has

Shortly after taking office, Pack purged the broadcaster’s leadership of multiple veteran journalists, who then sued.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. ruled late Friday that the head of the agency that runs Voice of America can’t fire any more journalists from the government-funded news organization, nor can he communicate with them at all. Michael Pack, a conservative filmmaker appointed CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media in June by President Donald Trump, fired veteran journalists from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Networks and announced an investigation into a VOA video he deemed to be “pro-Biden” in July. The director and deputy director of VOA resigned shortly before the staff purge. Friday’s preliminary injunctions prohibit any further such investigations. When five of the fired reporters and editors filed suit last month, citing the “statutory firewall” that shields the organization from politicking, Pack announced he would roll back that rule.