Death, taxes and Kari Lake being rebuked in court.
The latter of life’s certainties played out in a Washington courtroom on Monday as a federal judge temporarily blocked Lake — in her capacity as acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media — from eliminating the jobs of more than 500 employees from the taxpayer-funded Voice of America news organization.
Lake, a former local news anchor-turned-failed political candidate in Arizona, has effectively tried to gut USAGM since Donald Trump selected her to run the agency this year. Lake and the Trump administration had been moving forward with plans to lay off the VOA employees — in defiance of a court-ordered demand that the agency comply with established processes to carry out the cuts.
In light of that, U.S. District Judge Royce Lambert found himself in a scenario similar to that of the judges who oversaw Lake’s dubious election-related lawsuits as a candidate: having to take her to task. The Reagan appointee’s ruling blocked the firings for now and described Lake’s actions as potential contempt of court:
The Court must offer an observation on the concerning disrespect the defendants have shown toward the Court’s orders since the entry of the preliminary injunction. It is the Court’s view that the defendants’ disregard for its earlier orders to produce information would more than support a trial on civil contempt.
Lambert said Lake’s agency was resistant when it was asked to provide information about its plans to fire the employees. He also said that after he handed down his injunction, officials falsely claimed to the court they hadn’t made any decisions on job cuts when evidence showed they were already moving forward.
He wrote:
The defendants’ obfuscation of this Court’s requests for information regarding whether the (reduction in force) plans comported with the preliminary injunction has wasted precious judicial time and resources and readily support contempt proceedings. That said, the plaintiffs have not requested such proceedings, and the Court declines to pursue contempt sua sponte. However, its deference to the plaintiffs with respect to further proceedings should not be mistaken for lenience toward the defendants’ erstwhile conduct.
In a statement to The Washington Post, Lake said: “I’ve seen a huge ‘disrespect’ from the district courts toward the Executive Branch and the American people who have voted overwhelmingly to support President Donald J. Trump.”
Lamberth’s order gives Lake and company until Oct. 14 to submit a filing showing that their plans to reduce the VOA workforce will comply with federal law.
