Media reports say that reversing course, the Trump administration yesterday restored funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a federally financed news organization born out of American efforts to counter Soviet propaganda during the Cold War.

The New York Times reports that the decision to again support the news group came two days after a federal judge in Washington temporarily blocked President Trump’s push to close it down, saying Mr. Trump cannot unilaterally dismantle the news organization established by Congress.

Radio Liberty reported on March 24 that the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) committed to release to RFE/RL some of the funds appropriated for it by Congress, as a U.S. judge heard arguments over whether the federal agency was justified in canceling a grant agreement with the broadcaster.

“We hope the imminent disbursement of two weeks’ worth of funding that Congress appropriated to RFE/RL will keep our lights on until the court rules on the broader case,” RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement.

“We’re confident the law is on our side as the US Constitution grants Congress the exclusive power of the purse.  It is unlawful to deny us the funds that Congress has already appropriated to RFE/RL for the rest of this fiscal year.”

CNN reported on March 25 that US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth has granted Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s request for a temporary restraining order that will help the broadcaster stay on the air and online for the time being.

As it had been reported earlier,  the Trump administration terminated all grants for RFE/RL in a one-page letter on March 15, citing Mr. Trump’s executive order a day earlier aimed at eliminating RFE/RL’s parent agency, the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

The New York Times reports that according to the Trump administration’s letter to RFE/RL that was submitted to the court, the administration still reserved the right to terminate the RFE/RL’s financing “at a later date” if it “were to determine that such termination was appropriate.”  

The Prague-based RFE/RL operates in 23 countries and 27 languages across Central and Eastern Europe, the Near East, and Central Asia.

Launched in 1953, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, known locally as Radio Ozodi, operates out of a bureau in Dushanbe and reports in Tajik and Russian. 

Radio Ozodi is a trusted source of local news, attracting audiences with compelling reporting on issues not otherwise covered by Tajikistan’s state-run media.