Friday, March 28th – The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a temporary restraining order against the U.S. Agency for Global Media, its Acting Director Victor Morales, and Special Adviser Kari Lake, temporarily halting the far-reaching layoffs of Voice of America’s civil servants.

“This is a decisive victory for press freedom and the First Amendment, and a sharp rebuke to an Administration that has shown utter disregard for the principles that define our democracy,” said Andrew G. Celli, Jr., Founding Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP and counsel for plaintiffs. “Our clients are at the forefront of delivering independent news and diverse perspectives to the world, especially in countries where press freedom and independent journalism are either suppressed or nonexistent. Today, their vital role has been vindicated, and their jobs preserved—at least for now. We are prepared for the next battle on their behalf.”

Voice of America plaintiffs are represented by Andrew G. Celli, Jr. Debbie Greenberger, Dan Eisenberg, Nick Bourland, and Jake Schneebaum from Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. The firm achieved this win alongside Co-Counsel Government Accountability Project, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO (“AFSCME”), the American Foreign Service Association, the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (“AFGE”), State Democracy Defenders Fund, and Democracy Forward Foundation, and the Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School.

PRESS:

“American Foreign Service Association” – New York Times