Judge questions Kari Lake's efforts to dismantle Voice of America

Kari Lake delivers a speech at the Conservative Action Political Conference in February 2025. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)

Key Points:

A federal judge ordered Kari Lake to testify by September 15 over her efforts to scale back Voice of America and the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
Judge Royce C. Lamberth criticized Lake for withholding key information and said she was “verging on contempt of court.”
Lake cut staff, reduced programming, and cited a Trump executive order, but courts have ruled her actions violated legal and constitutional safeguards.

A federal judge has ordered Trump administration official Kari Lake to testify under oath as part of ongoing litigation over her efforts to significantly reduce operations at Voice of America and its parent agency, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).

During a hearing on Monday, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth said Lake was “verging on contempt of court” for failing to comply with previous orders to produce information related to her restructuring plans.

Lamberth ordered Lake and two aides — including Frank Wuco, a political appointee involved in controversial oversight of journalists during the Trump administration — to testify by September 15 and provide outstanding documentation concerning agency operations.

Lake is the subject of two related lawsuits filed by Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz and several unions, journalists and press advocacy organizations. The suits claim her actions are unlawful and contradict congressional directives requiring the continued operation of U.S.-funded international broadcasters.

At Monday’s hearing, Lamberth sharply criticized attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice who are representing Lake and the government agency. He called arguments presented by DOJ counsel Michael Velchik “hide-the-ball answers” and interrupted multiple times to press for specific explanations regarding management decisions that had not been disclosed to the court.

Among the issues raised were efforts to terminate Abramowitz without the required support of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board, a bipartisan panel whose members were dismissed by former President Trump and have yet to be replaced. Other actions included requesting new congressional funding, suspending most of the workforce, and initiating a content deal with right-leaning outlet One America News Network.

“I thought the idea of Voice of America was not to take sides,” Lamberth remarked during the hearing.

Lake, a former local TV news anchor, joined the USAGM in March. Since her appointment, she has initiated a sweeping overhaul of the agency, citing an executive order signed by President Trump.

Her actions include terminating hundreds of contract employees, placing full-time staff on indefinite paid leave, and cutting programming from 49 languages down to just four. The current on-air workforce represents less than 10 percent of its pre-reduction staffing.

While two appellate rulings have limited Lamberth’s previous orders, a third remains intact: requiring the agency to resume full operations and fulfill its legal obligation to provide “news which is consistently reliable and authoritative, accurate, objective, and comprehensive.” The court has rejected Lake’s claim that leaving journalists on paid leave meets that standard.

Lake has also attempted to halt funding for other USAGM-supported networks, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcast Networks. Federal rulings have required those payments to continue.

Lamberth repeatedly questioned whether Lake was in compliance with federal statutes mandating specific services, such as Korean-language broadcasts, which are no longer being produced.

Lake has styled herself as the agency’s acting CEO since at least July, though the White House has not issued any documentation affirming her appointment. Under federal law, her eligibility to serve in that role on an acting basis remains unclear.

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