Radio Free Europe vows to fight ‘unlawful’ Trump admin cuts

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RI) is suing the administration of President Donald Trump to try to reverse an order canceling funding for the US-backed broadcaster.

The media group’s president and CEO Stephen Capus said he believes the network has a “very strong case.”

“It is an unlawful act to withhold the funds that have been appropriated by Congress,” Capus told DW from Washington, D.C., where he was holding meetings with congressional staffers to make his case.

“It’s time to release the funds. It’s time to respect this work that’s being done, and it’s of vital nature both for the United States and for members of our audience,” Capus said.

What are Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty?

Radio Free Europe was originally launched in 1950 during the Cold War to reach people under Communism behind the Soviet Union’s Iron Curtain.

In 1953, Radio Liberty started broadcasting in Russian and more than a dozen other local languages.

Now broadcasting in 27 languages, the pro-democracy media group has since played an important role in providing information to countries without a free or robust press in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus region and the Middle East.

Why has Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty lost its funding?

Trump signed an order seeking to dismantle the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees RFE/RL as well as international broadcaster Voice of America, on March 14.

It was part of a sweeping order covering seven additional federal agencies on top of previous cuts such as to the US development agency, USAID, and to the Department of Education.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk tasked by Trump to slash government spending called in February for the US-funded media networks to be shut down, describing the broadcasters as “left-wing radicals” wasting taxpayer money.

However, some of the moves by the Trump administration to cut agencies have been reversed by the courts.

Most recently, a federal judge found on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID likely violated the constitution and blocked it from making further cuts to the agency.

How are RFE/RL important to Europe?

The cuts seem “pointless,” the media group’s leader Capus said. “We don’t understand why anybody would take this sort of drastic action at this important time in history.”

“Look at all around the world, there are strategic hot spots in which these US international broadcasters, including Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty are operating. And we exist because a free press is either gone or threatened in all the different areas where we operate.”

The cuts come as Russia continues to flood Europe with disinformation campaigns, including during recent elections in Germany and Romania.

“Russia is continuing it with all of its blind influence all across Europe,” Capus said, adding that this was all the more of a reason for RFE/RL to keep operating.

The media organization also provides critical coverage from war-torn Ukraine, where it employs more than 100 people, as well as about the Russian-controlled territories of Donbas and Crimea.

“For years, RFE/RL has been one of the most reliable sources for millions of Ukrainians,” the English-language Kyiv Independent wrote earlier this week, adding that 14% of Ukrainians tuned into RI broadcasts.

Flood of European support for media group

Capus said that the Prague-based media group will keep operating, despite the cancellation of its grant agreement.

“It’s going to be difficult because … they’re trying to squeeze our funding at the same time. … But we take our responsibility with the of the audience seriously. We do not want to just unilaterally pull back from these incredibly important parts of the world.”

Many European leaders have stated their support for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, including Sweden and Belgium.

DW is among broadcasters concerned by the decision, with DW Director General Peter Limbourg also called the decision a blow to free speech and press freedom.

Capus says the network is “incredibly gratified” by the level of support.

“In Europe, people know the value of Radio Free Europe. They understand Radio Liberty and as a place through history, people remember, you know, huddling around the radio with their grandparents or their parents. This is deeply meaningful to them.”

Can EU take over funding RFE/RI?

The European Union has been discussing ways to keep Radio Free Europe running, with the Czech Republic leading the push.

On Monday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas recalled listening to the network growing up in Estonia, which was part of the Soviet Union when she was a child, calling it “a beacon of democracy.”

But asked if the EU would commit to funding the network to fill the void the US was leaving, she said: “the answer to that question…. is not automatically.”

Asked about alternative funding sources, RFE/RL President Capus said the media organization wasn’t “anywhere close to having something in motion.”

“But right now, we’re gratified by the support and let’s see where all this goes.”