2 VOA execs resign amid clashes with Trump

WASHINGTON — The director of U.S.-funded Voice of America and her deputy resigned Monday after recent clashes with the Trump administration that have sparked fears for its independence.

Amanda Bennett and Deputy Director Sandy Sugawara announced they were leaving the organization as Trump ally and conservative filmmaker Michael Pack takes over leadership of the agency that oversees VOA.

Bennett told the staff in an email that Pack should be able to choose his own leadership of an organization created to promote democracy and American values abroad.

Trump and his supporters have been critical of coronavirus reporting by the outlet that ran counter to the administration narrative on China’s response to the outbreak. The White House directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to not cooperate with its journalists, an unusual attack on a venerable organization long known for maintaining its independence despite its government ties.

Bennett praised the VOA staff in an email and expressed hope that the new CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media would not interfere with its mission as some feared.

Democrats objected to the nomination of Pack, a one-time associate of former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, in part for his refusal to answer questions about past business dealings. That didn’t stop his confirmation by the Senate.

Trump and his allies have long viewed VOA with suspicion. That hostility burst open April 9 when Trump communications adviser Dan Scavino posted a VOA story about China to his official Twitter account with the comment, “American taxpayers— paying for China’s very own propaganda, via the U.S. Government funded Voice of America! DISGRACE!!”

The story that VOA posted was a report by the AP about the lifting of a lockdown in the Chinese city of Wuhan. But the following day, a White House publication accused VOA of using taxpayer money “to speak for authoritarian regimes.”

Trump weighed in several days later, calling VOA’s coverage “disgusting” and demanding that the Senate confirm Pack.