(The Hill) — National Public Radio (NPR) is suing President Donald Trump’s administration over his executive order targeting public broadcasting funding, alleging the move violates the outlet’s First Amendment rights.
In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., NPR argues Trump’s order “flatly contravenes statutes duly enacted by Congress and violates the Separation of Powers and the Spending Clause by disregarding Congress’s express commands. It also violates the First Amendment’s guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press.”
“The Order’s objectives could not be clearer,” the suit reads. “The Order aims to punish NPR for the content of news and other programming the President dislikes and chill the free
exercise of First Amendment rights by NPR and individual public radio stations across the country.”
Trump’s executive order, signed earlier this month, directs Congress to strip federal funding from NPR and PBS, saying “no media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies, and the Government is entitled to determine which categories of activities to subsidize.”
“Which viewpoints NPR and PBS promote does not matter. What does matter is that neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to tax paying citizens,” the order reads.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, NPR CEO Katherine Maher called Trump’s order “unlawful” and said the president is targeting her outlet because of his perception of liberal bias in its editorial content.
“NPR will never agree to this infringement of our constitutional rights, or the constitutional rights of our Member stations, and NPR will not compromise our commitment to an independent free press and journalistic integrity,” Maher said.
The suit comes as a push to strip funding from the broadcaster appears to be gaining steam among Republican lawmakers, though some have expressed skepticism.
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