Trump admin agrees to restore funding to Radio Free Europe, other groups amid lawsuits

The Trump administration has resumed funding to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Open Technology Fund that oversees Voice of America after the groups sued.

The Justice Department argues that the groups’ demands for injunctions are no longer justifiable now that funding has been restored, The Hill reported.

“Plaintiff has secured the primary relief — the withdrawal of the termination of its grant agreement — that it requested in the complaint. Now that Plaintiff has received that relief, Defendants’ position is that this matter is now moot,” the DOJ wrote Thursday in the Open Technology Fund case, according to The Hill.

The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) where former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake serves as an advisor, had cut funding to the groups in a reported effort to eliminate the agency, the Hill reported.

The group says it will drop its motion once it starts receiving funds again, attorney for Open Technology Fund Patrick Daugherty said.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth had sided with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Tuesday and ordered the administration to restore funds.

“DOJ Attorney Abigail Stout told the judge the government ‘can’t give a guarantee of when it will hit the bank account’ since the payment must go through Treasury Department processes, but assured that the resumption was in motion,” The Hill reported.

Lamberth, a Reagan-appointed judge who adjourned the proceeding Thursday after news of the refunding emerged, said he will hold a hearing Monday if the agreement falls through.

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