White House faced legal action by NPR and Colorado public radio stations over alleged retaliation for critical reporting.
NPR and three Colorado public radio stations sued the Trump administration on Tuesday, accusing the former president of violating the First Amendment by targeting the public broadcasters with an executive order meant to withhold funding.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that the May 1 executive order, which directed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to cease funding NPR and PBS, amounts to retaliation for their journalism that President Trump found unfavorable.
The executive order, entitled "Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media," claims that public broadcasters do not provide "fair," "accurate," or "unbiased" portrayals of current events to taxpayers, a charge the public broadcasters strongly contest.
The plaintiffs—NPR, Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, and KSUT Public Radio— assert that the order infringes upon their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press, as well as statutory safeguards under the Public Broadcasting Act. They assert that the order constitutes government retaliation against NPR and public stations for reporting news that President Trump disagrees with, effectively penalizing them for content he finds objectionable.
In addition to President Trump, the lawsuit names White House Budget Director Russell Vought, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts as defendants.
The lawsuit points out that Congress appropriates money for the CPB two years in advance to shield public broadcasters from political pressure. The CPB was created by congressional statute but established as a private corporation, and neither the president nor executive agencies hold control over it. The CPB chief stated when Trump issued his order that the corporation is independent of the federal government.
The case is currently pending in federal court, with defendants yet to make public comments regarding the lawsuit. The plaintiffs portray this dispute as a defense of journalistic independence and the public radio system relied upon by millions of Americans for essential news and information.
- The lawsuit filed against the Trump administration by NPR and three Colorado public radio stations alleges that the executive order aimed at withholding funding is a form of government retaliation for their unfavorable journalism, specifically in the areas of news, politics, and war-and-conflicts.
- The plaintiffs, which include NPR, Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, and KSUT Public Radio, assert that the executive order infringes upon their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press, as well as statutory safeguards under the Public Broadcasting Act, in relation to their educational and community-oriented programming.
- Investigations claimed to be biased by the executive order are a significant concern for the plaintiffs, who argue that the order constitutes censorship and a violation of the First Amendment's guarantees for free speech and free press.
- The lawsuit highlights the independence of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), created by congressional statute but established as a private corporation, and states that the CPB is independent of the federal government, refuting the claims made in the executive order entitled "Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media."
