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U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who was nominated to the
bench by Republican President Ronald Reagan, ruled that
Abramowitz cannot be removed from his position without the
approval of the majority of the International Broadcasting
Advisory Board.
In June, layoff notices were sent to more than 600 employees of
Voice of America and the government agency that oversees it.
Abramowitz was placed on administrative leave along with almost
the entire Voice of America staff. He was told he would be fired
effective Aug. 31.
Lamberth concluded that firing Abramowitz would be “plainly
contrary to law.”
“The defendants' own representations, in and out of court,
indicate that they have already effectively removed Abramowitz
from his role as director,” the judge wrote.
Kari Lake, whom President Donald Trump named as a senior adviser
to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, told a congressional panel
that the agency is “rotten to the core.” The agency also houses
Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams
Spanish-language news into Cuba.
The networks, which together reach an estimated 427 million
people, date to the Cold War and are part of a network of
government-funded organizations trying to extend U.S. influence
and combat authoritarianism.
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