The Trump administration has shuttered the Voice of America (VOA) and all of its sister networks, dismantling news services that have provided news and information to hundreds of millions of people in authoritarian regimes, like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, where such information is blocked.  Additionally, all VOA personnel have been placed on administrative leave one day after President Donald Trump signed the executive order. Speaking on behalf of Whistleblower Aid, David Kligerman who until recently served as the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of the US Agency for Global Media issued the following statement:

“The Voice of America, which broadcasts to hundreds of millions of listeners and viewers in nearly 100 countries every day with honest and objective news about America, their home country, and the world is about to go dark for the first time in 83 years,” David Kligerman said today. “There will now be severely limited options for news about the United States and the world in local languages –  with only Chinese and Russian surrogate broadcasters remaining to fill the vacuum. That’s disastrous because I know first hand what a critical tool VOA is in countering Russian as Chinese disinformation about the US. 

To destroy this reliable source of vital information overnight is not only unprecedented, it is also unlawful – as is the shuttering of the Agency and placement of all of its employees on administrative leave. 

This move grants President Trump’s loyalists free reign to invest $700m a year in broadcasters aligned with political agendas rather than essential information needed in closed countries and beyond.”