The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) decided yesterday, March 24, to release part of the funds allocated by Congress to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, IPN reports.

The agency's decision came hours before a hearing in US federal court in Washington on the fate of the agreement. The withholding of funds by the agency has jeopardized the operation of the broadcaster, which since the 1950s has provided fair and unbiased news to audiences in countries where the free and independent press has been stifled, RFE/RL.org reports.

"We hope that the impending payment of the two-week funding that Congress appropriated to RFE/RL will keep our 'lights' on until the court rules on the case", said RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus.

"We are confident that the law is on our side because the U.S. Constitution gives Congress exclusive power in this case. It is illegal to deny us funds that Congress has already appropriated to RFE/RL for the remainder of this fiscal year", Capus added.

At the hearing, Abigail Stout, a Justice Department attorney representing the Agency for Global Media, noted that the funding agreement between USAGM and RFE/RL, as set forth in the International Broadcasting Act, gives the agency the right to terminate the agreement if the broadcaster fails to comply with the provisions contained therein.

"So the statute actually provides that the agency could terminate a grant," the attorney noted.

In response, David Zionts, one of RFE/RL's attorneys, said it "wouldn't make sense" for the U.S. Congress to approve funding just so agencies can do whatever they want.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is still seeking the remainder of the funding due for the full 2025 budget year, which ends Sept. 30, 2025, and is seeking a preliminary injunction from the court to that effect. Judge Royce Lamberth is expected to decide whether to issue the order in the coming weeks.

The suspension of RFE/RL funding is tied to the White House leader's March 14 decision to cut seven federal agencies, including the U.S. Global Media Agency, which oversees Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and other media organizations, justifying his decision as cutting federal red tape. Later, RFE/RL sued USAGM to release the federal grants.

Photo source: rferl.org