U.S. Judge says Kari Lake broke law in overseeing Voice of America

"Lake satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution. He declared all of Lake's actions over the past year to be null and void. That includes the layoffs of more than 1,000 journalists and staffers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media and the Voice of America."

"It follows a series of courtroom exchanges in which Lamberth has found the government's arguments that Congress had no role to play in the future of the agency and the network unconvincing and called Lake's credibility into question from the bench. Last summer he threatened Lake with contempt of court."

"The American people gave President Trump a mandate to cut bloated bureaucracy, eliminate waste, and restore accountability to government. An activist judge is trying to stand in the way of those efforts at USAGM. Judge Lamberth has a pattern of activist rulings and this case is no different."

U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth issued a ruling declaring that Kari Lake did not satisfy statutory or constitutional requirements to serve as acting chief executive of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. The judge nullified all of Lake's actions over the past year, including the layoffs of more than 1,000 journalists and staffers at the agency and Voice of America. The ruling represents a significant rebuke to the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle Voice of America and related international networks. Throughout the litigation, Judge Lamberth questioned the government's arguments that Congress had no role in the agency's future and raised concerns about Lake's credibility. Lake announced her intention to appeal the decision, characterizing the judge as activist and claiming the administration has a mandate to eliminate government waste.

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