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recently published federal investigation found that Michael Pack, the
Trump-appointed CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), illegally abused his authority by firing staffers who were seen as anti-Trump. The State Department's inspector general's office ultimately reinstated and exonerated the staffers. - USAGM
oversees the Voice of America and other U.S.-funded global media
agencies, including Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia.
- The 145-page report,
sent to Congress and the White House earlier this month, found that
Pack interfered with newsroom independence in USAGM-governed agencies.
- He also personally signed a no-bid contract with a private law firm to investigate employees seen as anti-Trump.
- Legal fees for the investigation, which ought to have been done by federal employees, cost $1.6M.
- Pack
was also found to have retaliated against career USAGM executives by
suspending their security clearances after they made whistleblower
complaints.
- Pack previously
led the far-right Claremont Institute in California and was most
prominent for producing documentaries with former Trump advisor Steve
Bannon.
- His appointment to lead the USAGM was held up for two years in the Senate over concerns about his partisanship.
- Pack led the USAGM from June 2020 to Jan. 2021.
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