In a significant legal development, a federal judge dismissed the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and the Voice of America (VOA) as unlawful. The judge also used Kari Lake’s deposition against her, sharply criticizing her for lacking an opinion on a fundamental legal question she should have been aware of.

Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee known for his conservative stance, emphasized the importance of including the depositions of Kari Lake, senior adviser Frank Wuco, and VOA director of Persian broadcasts Leili Soltani in the case record. In his detailed opinion, he explained why he overlooked the government’s objections to these depositions.

Judge Lamberth argued that the objection was unfounded because the defendants had consistently failed to provide the necessary administrative records, which they were required to submit alongside their motion to dismiss. This lack of transparency necessitated the depositions to uncover essential information about USAGM and VOA’s operations and future plans.

It wasn’t until Judge Lamberth threatened to hold Lake in contempt that the defendants disclosed the “Statutory Minimum Memorandum.” This document was an agency action that implemented President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order aimed at continuing the reduction of the federal bureaucracy.

Judge Lamberth criticized the defendants’ ongoing omission and withholding of crucial information, describing their actions as a hallmark example of bad faith. This conduct, he noted, justified the inclusion of the depositions in the case proceedings.

The judge’s frustration was further fueled by Lake’s evasive responses during her deposition. Her inability to confirm whether the VOA was operating at the legally mandated minimum standards, as required by Congress, led to his decision to mandate her deposition in August.

Just over a week ago, Lamberth additionally ruled the Trump administration unlawfully delegated Lake “nearly all” the authority of the USAGM’s CEO, an issue known by those closely following the DOJ’s losses in court over interim or acting U.S. attorney appointments.

Lake began at USAGM as a senior adviser but got an upgraded title of deputy CEO and eventually started holding herself out for months as acting CEO.

As a result, the judge found actions Lake took from July to November 2025 while wielding that authority were “void,” including firings.

Lamberth’s latest opinion recounted that Lake one year ago responded to Trump’s executive order by promptly putting more than 1,000 employees on administrative leave and ripping up hundreds of contracts.

The results of Lake’s deposition about her actions evidently didn’t impress the judge, a boost for the plaintiffs who insisted all along that ideologues were trampling on the “statutory mandate that VOA continuously broadcast to the world[.]”

If Lake, a former news anchor, can’t or won’t form an opinion on “significant” places for the U.S. to broadcast as required by law, and with an understanding of “censorship or repression” unique to regions around the world, that’s a problem, Lamberth suggested.

“Defendant Lake has repeatedly thumbed her nose at these statutory requirements, testifying that she has no opinion about which countries censor and repress their people — or even the basic question of which regions of the world qualify as significant, as would be required just to feign compliance with 22 U.S.C. § 6202(b)(6) and (7),” Lamberth said. “These refusals constitute a ‘transparent violation[] of a clear duty to act.’”

The statute the judge referred to says U.S. “international broadcasting shall include information about developments in each significant region of the world” and “a variety of opinions and voices from within particular nations and regions prevented by censorship or repression from speaking to their fellow countrymen[.]”

Lamberth said the plaintiffs came up with “undisputed evidence” that the VOA is “unable to operate its Iran service at current staffing levels, despite a statutory mandate to do so,” as a war unfolds.

“Apart from boilerplate responses, the defendants rebut none of these facts,” he added, ordering employees back to work and ensuring the VOA is functioning as mandated by Congress.