Foley Hoag has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on behalf of eight former directors of Voice of America (VOA) in Abramowitz v. Lake.

The amicus brief, filed on behalf of a bipartisan group of former directors including Danforth Austin, Amanda Bennett, Mary Bitterman, Geoffrey Cowan, David Ensor, Robert Reilly, Chase Untermeyer and Sanford Ungar, provides critical context and support for the case brought by the current director, Michael Abramowitz, challenging the Trump Administration’s recent actions to unilaterally dismantle VOA. The brief presents evidence of VOA’s 80-year history as a force for American foreign policy influence through credible, accurate, unbiased reporting to audiences numbering in the hundreds of millions across the world, many of whom would otherwise lack access to news they could trust. 

On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order dismantling the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the federal agency that funds VOA and other international broadcasting efforts. The USAGM put VOA employees, including Director Michael Abramowitz, on administrative leave. Abramowitz and others quickly filed suit and obtained a temporary restraining order blocking the administration from dismantling VOA. The government appealed, and the matter is now in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The brief argues that, for over 80 years, Congress has consistently reaffirmed and reinforced the principle that to achieve its aims and win over global audiences, the VOA must be a free and independent source of news. The amici highlight the dangers of political interference, including the hiring and firing of staff and unilateral coverage decisions by agency leadership, which threaten the credibility and effectiveness of VOA. The former directors recount episodes in which they pushed back against pressure to influence coverage from both sides of the political aisle, and in which they reported on America’s own foibles—under both parties—to demonstrate to peoples across world the value of a free press they could aspire to.

VOA has a storied history of delivering trustworthy and unbiased news to hundreds of millions of listeners and viewers across the world. It was broadcast for the first time to German citizens seeking reprieve from Nazi fascism in World War II and has been credited by world leaders with contributing to the fall of Soviet communism. As detailed in the brief, VOA continues to be a critical resource worldwide in times of national crises and in combating authoritarianism and extremism, particularly in countries that have tried to insulate their people from the truth.

The Foley Hoag team representing the amici includes Greg Craig, Jack Smith, Shayonna Cato, Brenna Rosen, Zihan Mei, Usra Qureshi, and Langie Cadesca.