PBS has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration challenging his executive order targeting public broadcasting.
PBS’s lawsuit, filed in United States District Court in Washington, accuses the administration of unlawfully interfering in the operations of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and committing multiple violations of the First Amendment – viewpoint discrimination, illegal retaliation against the network and encroachment of PBS’s press freedoms. The suit also alleges the administration has violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
Trump signed the executive order instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to “cease direct funding to NPR and PBS” on his way to Florida aboard Air Force One on May 1.
In this photo illustration, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) logo is displayed on a smartphone screen.
Rafael Henrique/Sopa Images via Sipa USA via AP
The order blocks federal funding to NPR and PBS to the maximum extent allowed by law, according to a fact sheet from the White House. It also prevents indirect funding to PBS and NPR by prohibiting local public radio and television stations, and any other recipients of CPB funds, from using taxpayer dollars to support the organizations.
Additionally, it instructs the Federal Communications Commission and relevant agencies to investigate whether NPR and PBS have engaged in unlawful discrimination.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
