NPR notes that, less than two months into his second term as president, Trump began attacking National Public Radio and its television counterpart, PBS, as “monsters of the radical left.” In May, he followed that up by issuing an executive order to cut federal funding to both NPR and PBS.
National Public Radio is expected to take its longtime partner, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, to trial this coming December.
On Thursday, a federal judge agreed to a December trial date to oversee the litigation, according to NPR. National Public Radio is expected to be released after, last spring, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting canceled a $36 million contract in the face of mounting pressure from the White House.
In court hearings on Tuesday and Thursday, National Public Radio presented evidence in support of its claim, prompting U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss to cast doubt on CFB’s claim that it had decided to seek funding for practical, rather than political, purposes.
The proudest explanation for the CFB’s reworkings, Moss said, was that the collaboration was merely hoping to ensure its own survival.
“I’m not sure I got any answers at all to the question of what changed from April 2 to April 4, other than the fact that CPB was looking for ways to test itself on the administration and maybe the people on the Hill wanting to survive,” Moss said during Thursday’s hearing. “(a) It is understood that the CPB required the votes and support of those who were hostile to the content of NPR’s speech.”
NPR notes that, less than two months into his second term as president, Trump began attacking National Public Radio and its television counterpart, PBS, as “monsters of the radical left.” In May, he followed that up by issuing an executive order to cut federal funding to both NPR and PBS.
“Suddenly there was this change. And thus caused this change?” Moss asked Tuesday. “I have to say, the most plausible explanation for what’s going on here, is that everything is not as linear as “we’re for it or against it”.
“CPB is understandably trying to survive,” Moss said. “There’s a lot of material that’s on the record here that says there’s a lot of strategy going on: ‘What do we do? One thing we do is distance ourselves from NPR, because they don’t like NPR.’
Later, on Thursday, Moss reiterated his point, saying he was not yet sure what had changed other than the political climate and his desire to see the CPB attack him. “
Sources
Judge hears case over whether White House pressure caused CPB to pull back from NPR
The NPR lawsuit alleges that the corporation exerted political pressure for public broadcasting
