Judge orders Kari Lake to testify over Voice of America cuts

A federal judge on Monday ordered Kari Lake, a senior Trump administration official who has overseen sweeping cuts at Voice of America, to submit to sworn questioning and threatened to hold her in contempt for failing to comply with repeated court orders to restore the federally funded broadcaster. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth gave Lake and two aides until Sept. 15 to appear and to provide detailed information about actions taken to pare back Voice of America and its parent, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, saying the government had been evasive about its plans and execution.

Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, said he was frustrated by what he characterized as vague responses from Justice Department attorneys at a two hour hearing, and explicitly faulted the administration for reducing Voice of America from a 24 hour service in 49 languages to a skeletal operation broadcasting in four languages for about an hour a day. "On the face of it, she's on the verge of contempt," the judge said, asking, "Why is she stonewalling me?" He said he did not want a contempt trial but would pursue one if necessary.

Court filings and testimony laid out a series of abrupt management moves...