The Trump administration has accelerated its purge of the U.S. Global Media Agency (USAGM), in which critics warn a further step is being taken toward Voice of America and other public broadcasters in propaganda outlets.
Seven senior officials had withdrawn their security delays this week, making it impossible for them to continue in their roles. They included the chief financial officer and former interim CEO, Grant Turner, and the firm’s attorney general, David Kligerman, who both said they were fired for their opposition to the politicization of the organization under their new chief executive, Michael Pack, a Trump supporter and ally of right-wing ideologue Steve Bannon.
Career officials have in several cases been replaced by political loyalists. Politico reported Thursday that a controversial former host of the radio talk show has been hired as senior adviser to USAGM leadership. A CNN investigation found that Frank Wuco had a record of scandalous insults and baseless claims. He called President Barack Obama “a Kenyan,” called Democratic Congressman Nancy Pelosi a “Nazi,” and claimed that former CIA director John Brennan had converted to Islam. The Washington Post found that he had suggested that the US should launch nuclear weapons on Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks.
The change in tone is reflected in recent digital output. On Thursday, the VOA tweeted a link after a news story titled “Ivanka Trump Continues Agenda for Women’s Empowerment Amid Pandemic” illustrated by a smiling image of the president’s daughter. The story makes clear that she was one of several officials and business leaders who announced new funding for economic projects for women.
On Tuesday, the day Joe Biden named Kamala Harris as his running mate, Voice of America (VOA) released an adoring tweet about Vice President Mike Pence saying it had ‘hot storms hitting Trump’s White House shook, stood by the president through an impact story and many cabinet changes. ”
The report to which the tweet was linked provided a further measure of Pence’s role, with one expert having some doubts about his influence. But that nuance was not reflected in the tweet, which stated: “Mike Pence: Backing Up a Demanding Boss” above a video about the Vice President with the VOA logo and the slogan “A Free Press Matters”.
The Voice of America
(@VOANews)U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has heated up storms that have shaken Trump’s White House, standing by the president through an impeachment trial and many cabinet changes.
IkeMike pence: Backup of a questioning boss https://t.co/ZR1vX6ez5H pic.twitter.com/gyYToLM8m3
‘We were shocked when we saw that. We were like: we can not believe this is happening, “said a VOA journalist, who said the tweets appeared to come from the VOA’s central news department.
“We can see editors and others starting to act out of fear, and self-censorship.”
Since taking over Pack in June, he has cleared the heads of broadcasting agencies under USAGM authority, such as VOA and Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The new management has made it clear that the visas of foreign journalists at VOA will not be renewed, causing them to return to their home countries, potentially endangering some of them. The first handful of affected journalists are expected to leave the US before the end of the month.
The digital administrator of the VOA’s Urdu language service was also reported by the New York Post that he has been placed on leave after the service ran a news story about Biden’s campaign among American Muslims. Pack announced that he would investigate the issue, something that would normally be handled by the head of journalistic standards, Steven Springer, but Springer was removed from this post in June, and it has since remained low.
Pack has also begun an investigation into what he claims are past security breaches, and USAGM released a report this week, in support of the claim. It provided a timeline of a long-running dispute between USAGM and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management over the veteran of journalists hired by the agency.
Officials with knowledge of the dispute said that USAGM was trying to reserve its right to new rental homes because it used a higher standard, and that the dispute was ultimately a turf war. They said USAGM journalists do not come into contact with classified material and that no evidence has been produced so that foreign agents have succeeded in infiltrating the bureau in recent years.
“This all feels like a privilege to me,” said a congressional relief worker. “It’s like every single thing he can do to wipe people out, he’s seizing and doing it.”
The two most senior targets of the last purge said they were victims of revenge.
“The reasons for my dismissal are without merit and just compensation for calling on the CEO and his team to take responsibility for gross mismanagement of the agency,” Turner told Politico.
Kligerman told the news website: “There is no other conclusion to be drawn except that it is in retaliation for trying to do my job in a political way and speak truth to power.”
A USAGM spokesman told the Guardian: “We have taken action to restore integrity and respect for the rule of law in our work at USAGM. We will take extra steps to help restore this agency to its heyday. ”
Democrats in Congress have tried to intervene to stop the forced departure of foreign journalists and executives.
“Michael Pack is once again trying to purge USAGM of the apolitical, career officials who have helped ensure that the agency fulfills its mission to provide unbiased news and information around the world,” said Eliot Engel, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs,.
“He is destroying the decades-old legacy of America’s international broadcasting efforts in a clear attempt to transform the agency into an ideological mouthpiece to promote Donald Trump ahead of the election.”
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