Saturday, August 30, 2025

Kari Lake Fires Over 500 Voice of America Staff (Connecting the Dots: Voice of America (VOA) / Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty & Soros Funding, All Networking)


Kari Lake Fires Over 500 Voice of America Staff (Connecting the Dots: Voice of America (VOA) / Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Newsmax.com

By James Morley III    |   Saturday, 30 August 2025 12:39 PM EDT

https://www.newsmax.com/us/kari-lake-voice-of-america-lawsuit/2025/08/30/id/1224527/

Kari Lake, who serves as President Donald Trump's top adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, has officially dismissed more than 500 Voice of America employees, the former journalist announced Friday evening.  

Lake sent termination letters to 532 employees of the broadcaster and its parent company late on Friday. "The U.S. Agency for Global Media initiated what is known as a reduction in force, or RIF, of a large number of its full-time federal employees," Lake wrote, adding that this would "help reduce the federal bureaucracy ... and save the American people more of their hard-earned money."

"I look forward to taking additional steps in the coming months to improve the functioning of a very broken agency and make sure America's voice is heard abroad where it matters most," Lake added.

In his first term, Trump accused VOA of speaking "for America's adversaries - not its citizens" during the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns and said the agency was relying on Chinese propaganda. Two months into his second administration, the president signed an executive order to reduce the agency to the "minimum presence and function required by law," which resulted in more than 1,000 journalists being placed on indefinite administrative leave.

Lake, a Trump loyalist who lost races for Arizona governor in 2022 and the U.S. Senate in 2024, fired 500 contractors in May and then sought to dismiss more than 600 full-time staffers in June, a move quickly reversed after the federal employee union AFGE uncovered numerous administrative errors by the agency.

In May, the AFGE sued the USAGM, Acting Director Victor Morales, and Lake challenging the closing of the agency and arguing that the federal government "failed to fulfill its legally required functions and violated both the freedom of journalists and separation of powers when it ordered staff not to report to work, suspended contractors, turned off service, and locked the agency's doors."

In a Saturday statement on X, VOA journalists Patsy Widakuswara and Jessica Jerreat, and Kate Neeper, a director at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, called Lake's firings "abhorrent."

"We are looking forward to her deposition to hear whether her plan to dismantle VOA was done with the rigorous review process that Congress requires," Widakuswara, Jerreat, and Neeper, all plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said. "So far we have not seen any evidence of that, and as such we will continue to fight for what we believe to be our rights under the law."

Voice of America (VOA)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_of_America

Agencies

Voice of America has been a part of several agencies. From its founding in 1942 to 1945, it was part of the Office of War Information, and then from 1945 to 1953 as a function of the State Department. VOA was placed under the U.S. Information Agency in 1953. When the USIA was abolished in 1999, VOA was placed under the BBG which is an autonomous U.S. government agency, with bipartisan membership. The Secretary of State has a seat on the BBG.[162] The BBG was established as a buffer to protect VOA and other U.S.-sponsored, non-military, international broadcasters from political interference. It replaced the Board for International Broadcasting (BIB) that oversaw the funding and operation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a branch of VOA.

Connecting the Dots:

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the NPR.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society and a benefactor for the NPR.

Kevin Klose is the president emeritus for the NPR and the president & CEO for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Alan C. Page was the color commentator for the NPR and the color commentator for the Turner Broadcasting System Inc.

Patricia E. Mitchell was an executive in charge of original productions for the Turner Broadcasting System Inc., the president & CEO for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the president of CNN Productions.

Steven W. Korn was a VP & general counsel for the Turner Broadcasting System Inc., a director at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the president & CEO for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the vice chairman & COO for CNN.

Walter Isaacson was the chairman & CEO for CNN, the chairman for the Broadcasting Board of Governors and is the president & CEO for the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Marc B. Nathanson was the chairman for the Broadcasting Board of Governors and is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Condoleezza Rice was a governor for the Broadcasting Board of Governors and is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank) and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Jon M. Huntsman Jr. is a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and an ambassador to China for the Barack Obama administration.

J. Stapleton Roy is a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and was a U.S. ambassador for China.

James F. Collins is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and was a U.S. ambassador for Russia.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).

Ted Turner is a co-chairman for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), the founder of the Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and the founder of CNN.  

Steven W. Korn was the vice chairman & COO for CNN, a VP & general counsel for the Turner Broadcasting System Inc., a director at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the president & CEO for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Patricia E. Mitchell was the president of CNN Productions, an executive in charge of original productions for the Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and the president & CEO for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Vivian Schiller was the SVP for CNN Productions, the Russian interpreter for the Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and the president & CEO for the NPR.

Alan C. Page was the color commentator for the Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and the color commentator for the NPR.

George Soros was a benefactor for the NPR and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the NPR.

Kevin Klose is the president emeritus for the NPR and the president & CEO for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Resources: Past Research

GOP Lawmakers Wicker, Schock Aim to Restore Cuts to Radio Free Europe (Past Research on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Thursday, March 20, 2014

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2014/03/gop-lawmakers-wicker-schock-aim-to.html

Chinese Crash Crushes Stock Market as Obama Imitates Chinese Economy (Past Research on China)

Monday, August 24, 2015

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2015/08/chinese-crash-crushes-stock-market-as.html

Rep. Burchett Wants Soros, Associate Before House Panel (Connecting the Dots: Jamie Gorelick, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Russia, Letitia James, The Committee for Economic Development, FBI, CIA, The Open Society Foundations, The Foundation to Promote Open Society & Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on Russia)

Sunday, August 3, 2025

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2025/08/rep-burchett-wants-soros-associate.html

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