U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss has permanently struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order that attempted to defund NPR and PBS.
In a 62-page ruling on Tuesday, Moss said the First Amendment did not allow the president to defund the two private entities because, in Trump’s view, “neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events.”
“The President may, of course, engage in his own expressive conduct, including criticizing the views, reporting, or programming of NPR, PBS, or any other news outlet with whom he disagrees,” the judge wrote. “But the First Amendment draws a line, which the government may not cross, at efforts to use government power — including the power of the purse — ‘to punish or suppress disfavored expression’ by others.”
“Executive Order 14290 crosses that line,” he continued. “[I]t singles out two speakers and, on the basis of their speech, bars them from all federally funded programs.”
“The Court will, accordingly, enter a judgment as to all agency defendants declaring that the Executive Order’s direction to cease funding NPR and PBS is unlawful and unenforceable.”
Moss made the ruling even though the distributor for NPR and PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, had recently shut down following the executive order.
“The Court will also enter a permanent injunction barring the agency defendants from implementing or enforcing that direction,” the judge said. “The Court will not, however, enter injunctive or declaratory relief against the CPB or the President… Plaintiffs’ claims are moot to the extent that they pertain to the CPB’s implementation or enforcement of Section 2 of the Executive Order.”
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