PBS sued President Trump on Friday to block an executive order that would cut federal funding for public television and radio, arguing that it was unconstitutional.
Mr. Trump signed an executive order this month demanding that the taxpayer-backed Corporation for Public Broadcasting cut federal funding from NPR and PBS, arguing that those organizations were politically biased.
PBS’s lawsuit says Mr. Trump’s order also jeopardizes the roughly 61 percent of its budget that comes from local station dues, arguing that the White House ban on indirect funding of PBS would apply to local stations.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting receives its funding from Congress two years in advance to insulate it from short-term political priorities.
The lawsuit also says the First Amendment prohibits the president from deciding which organizations should receive funding based on the views they express.
PBS filed a lawsuit against President Trump on Friday, claiming that the executive order which would reduce federal funding for public radio and television was unconstitutional.
It was filed in the U.S. S. . PBS and a public television station in Minnesota filed a complaint in a Washington district court, claiming that Mr. Trump’s order is illegal because it “prohibits the president from acting as the arbiter of the content of PBS’s programming, including by attempting to defund PBS.”. “.”.
According to the lawsuit, “the executive order makes no attempt to hide the fact that it is cutting off the flow of funds to PBS because of the content of PBS programming and out of a desire to alter the content of speech.”. That is obviously discriminatory in terms of viewpoint. “”.
The White House refrained from commenting at this time.
Mr. This month, Trump issued an executive order claiming that NPR and PBS were politically biased and requesting that the taxpayer-supported Corporation for Public Broadcasting stop providing federal funding to them. NPR filed a lawsuit this week to block the executive order, and PBS CEO Paula Kerger referred to it as “blatantly unlawful.” Both organizations fiercely resisted. “”.
PBS claims the order will “upend public television,” which has broadcast programs like Frontline, Sesame Street, and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood for decades. “.”.
PBS spends more than $500 million annually on public media, and grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting account for about 16 percent of its $373.04 million annual budget. PBS’s lawsuit claims that the White House’s ban on indirect funding of the network would also affect local stations, putting at risk the approximately 61% of its budget that comes from local station dues.
In order to protect the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from short-term political priorities, Congress provides funding for the organization two years in advance.
PBS “reached the conclusion that it was necessary to take legal action to safeguard public television’s editorial independence, and to protect the autonomy of PBS member stations,” a PBS spokesman said in a statement. “”.
PBS contends in its lawsuit that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting can only be funded by Congress, not Mr. Trump. The First Amendment, according to the lawsuit, forbids the president from selecting which groups should be funded on the basis of the opinions they hold.
