The judge orders Trump officials to pay the financing of radio free Europe

A federal judge ordered Trump Administration on Tuesday to pay grants approved by the congress which she held at Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, a press organization funded by the federal government which provides independent reports in the countries a limited press freedom.

The judge, Royce C. Lamberth of the American district court of the Columbia district, ordered the Trump administration to pay $ 12 million to the press organization for its funding in April. Judge Lamberth seemed to fill a escape from his previous decision, which allowed the Trump administration to effectively hold funds for radio free Europe / Radio Liberty while complying with the mandate of the court.

“In this case,” wrote the judge in his decision, “it was the congress that ordered that the sums in question” should go to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty in the legislation signed by President Trump himself.

“In short: the current congress and President Trump promulgated a law allocating funds to the complainants,” he concluded.

The judge, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, also offered an unusual defense of the federal judiciary and his non -partisan nature, as Mr. Trump has done in recent months Called to dismiss federal judges And his administration changed to Open December of courts In some cases.

In recent months, judge Lambert has written: “People in the interior and outside of the government have variously accused the courts – including – to foment a constitutional crisis, usurpling the powers of the presidency of article II, the sub -depreciation of the popular will or the way in which executive agencies can and should be managed.”

He continued: “The subtext, if not the title, of these accusations is that the federal judges are motivated by personal political agendas.”

Judge Lamberth rejected the assertion that he dictated the policy of administration in an abuse of power or the seat of the press organization by admiration for his journalistic work.

“When President Reagan appointed me to this bench,” he said, “I swore that I pay my functions” without respect for faithful and impartial people under the Constitution “.

He added: “I am governed by this oath every day. I am not a political actor, and I have no agenda to put pressure. I think it’s true for my colleagues on the federal bench.”

In March, the Trump administration ended the Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty subsidy after Mr. Trump signed An executive decree Seeking to empty its mother organization, the American agency for the world media. Judge Lamberth temporarily blocked the termination of the subsidy about a week later, telling Mr. Trump cannot stop unilaterally An organization funded by the Congress.

After the decision in March, the administration canceled the termination but continued to remember moneyAffirming that he was negotiating new conditions of the grant agreement with the point of sale, also known as RFE / RL.

In the proposed agreement, Trump officials asked the powers to suspend funds for the broadcaster funded by the federal government and closed parts of its programming, the movements that Radio Free Europe were prohibited by the congress to ensure journalistic integrity.

The agreement would also allow the Trump administration to determine the members of the authority’s board of directors, a conference of authority revoked in 2020 after the appointment of Trump to the world media agency have mixed editorial decisions of the group of news.

The press organization had asked the Trump administration to pay the money owed to him for April so that he could maintain his operations when they negotiate a new contract, but the government has ignored the request on several occasions.

Trump officials also spent eight days without responding to the email of the group of news up to a few hours before a hearing before the judge.

“Finding your eyes on defendants’ delay tactics,” said Judge Lamberth, referring to Trump officials who were prosecuted, “would be a naive conclusion, allowing the agency to escape judicial control indefinitely.”

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, which reports in nearly 30 languages ​​and reached 47 million people each week, was on the brink of collapse before the court restored its funding.

He had dismissed most of the contracts with independent journalists, lacking payments on office leases and conceded more than 120 employees. The news group, a private non -profit organization that has an independent council and a job authority, receives 99% of its budget for the financing of the congress. Radio free Europe lawyers said the media would have ceased all operations by June without more funds.

The decision follows another emitted by judge Lamberth, who ordered the Trump administration of Restore operations at Voice of AmericaAnother media funded by the government that the administration has closed by putting almost all its employees on paid leave. Unlike RFE / RL, Voice of America is a federal agency whose journalists are government employees.

Mr. Trump attacked the voice of America as “The voice of radical AmericaAnd accused the point of sale, which provides news to countries such as Russia, China and Iran, of spreading “anti-American” and “propaganda”.

Judge Lamberth had also ordered the administration to stop his efforts to close two other editorial rooms funded by the federal government: Radio Free Asia and the Middle East broadcasting networks. But he ceased to grant this reparation to Free Europe radio at the time because the government and the press organization still negotiated.

During a hearing on Monday, Abigail Stout, the lawyer for the Ministry of Justice on the case, argued that the court should not take place in an active contract negotiation, because such actions could establish a precedent which could link the hands of the government to mark the agreements with other parties.

Judge Lamberth did not find his argument convincing.

Radio lawyers Free Europe “do not say that they are not satisfied with the conditions,” said the judge, interrupting Ms. Stout. “They say the terms are illegal.”

When RFE / RL’s lawyer, Thomas R. Brugato, approached him and said that he had six points refuting the arguments of Mrs. Stout, the judge again arrested.

“Only six?” Asked Judge Lambert, smiling.