PBS and one of its affiliates in Minnesota has sued the Trump administration over its efforts to defund funding for the public broadcaster.The suit, filed in a U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., argues that the administration is violating PBS and its stations First Amendment rights, and that efforts to influence funding decisions from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are unlawful.“After careful deliberation, 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 spokesperson for PBS says.“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is creating media to support a particular political party on the taxpayers’ dime,” White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields says. “Therefore, the President is exercising his lawful authority to limit funding to NPR and PBS. The President was elected with a mandate to ensure efficient use of taxpayer dollars, and he will continue to use his lawful authority to achieve that objective.”Trump has signed both an executive order targeting funds for public broadcasting, and has pursued rescission packages, while also trying to get Congress to withhold funding from its budget.“The EO 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 blatant viewpoint discrimination and an infringement of PBS and PBS Member Stations’ private editorial discretion,” the lawsuit states. “The EO also seeks to impose an unconstitutional condition on PBS Member Stations’ receipt of federal funds by prohibiting them from using federal funds to access PBS programming and services. And the EO smacks of retaliation for, among other things, perceived political slights in news coverage. That all transgresses the First Amendment’s protection of both speech and freedom of the press.”“If allowed to stand, the EO would override Congress’s decision to remove the administration of federal funding for public television from the government’s editorial purview,” the filing continues. “And it would have profound impacts on the ability of PBS and PBS Member Stations to provide a rich tapestry of programming to all Americans. PBS and Lakeland PBS bring suit to preserve their ability to serve their viewers and communities without political interference, as both Congress and the First Amendment mandate.”
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