PBS Sues Trump Over Defunding Attempt

PBS filed a lawsuit Friday against President Donald Trump to stop his attempt to eliminate federal funding for the public broadcaster.

 
In its filing with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., PBS argued that the U.S. Constitution and the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act prohibit Trump from defunding PBS or controlling its programming.

 The lawsuit, joined by a PBS member station in Minnesota, follows a similar legal action by NPR against Trump and his administration three days earlier.

“After careful consideration, PBS determined that legal action was essential to protect public television’s editorial independence and the autonomy of its member stations,” a PBS spokesperson told CNBC.

Both nonprofit public media organizations seek to overturn Trump’s May 1 executive order, which directed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and all executive agencies to end federal funding for NPR and PBS.

 
The order claimed that government funding for news media is “outdated, unnecessary, and undermines the appearance of journalistic independence,” while accusing PBS and NPR of delivering biased and inaccurate reporting to taxpayers.