U.S. Court to USAGM: Stop Efforts to Shut Down Radio Free Europe
A court in the United States agreed to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s request for a temporary restraining order in the lawsuit filed by the station against the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) for cutting congressionally approved funding to the station.
In the U.S. judicial system, a temporary restraining order (TRO) is an order issued by a judge for a short period before full court hearings, aimed at preventing specific actions to protect an individual or entity from potential harm until a permanent resolution is reached.
The U.S. District Court in Washington, in its ruling issued on Tuesday, March 25, stated that the U.S. media agency likely acted arbitrarily and hastily in cutting financial aid to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and if their actions are carried out, it would cause irreparable harm to this media outlet.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth wrote in his 10-page ruling that granting the temporary restraining order to prevent the shutdown of this media outlet is necessary because Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has shown that it is likely to win in court sessions of this case, and allowing USAGM’s actions until the court sessions regarding the fate of Radio Free Europe’s budget would cause irreparable harm to this media outlet, and issuing this order is in the public interest.
Judge Lamberth wrote that the leadership of USAGM cannot force Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to shut down with a single sentence of reasoning that effectively provides no explanation.
Even if the President has told them to do so.