Judge Blocks Trump Appointee From ‘Interfering’ With Voice of America

Michael Pack speaks at his nomination hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Sept. 19, 2019. Screenshot of hearing video/U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

President Donald Trump’s appointee to lead a federal agency that oversees government-funded broadcasters likely violated the Constitution by trying to guide coverage, a federal judge has ruled.

District of Columbia District Judge Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee, ruled that actions by U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack likely violated the First Amendment.