NPR COMPLAINT

2.  aims to punish and control Plaintiffs’ news coverage and other speech the Administration deems “biased.”

3.  the President—criticizing what he perceives as “bias” in the award-winning journalism and cultural programming produced by NPR—has issued an Executive Order that thwarts Congress’s intent

4.  Congress enacted the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 (the Act) because it determined that broad access to free, high-quality, independent public radio and television programming produced and aired by private entities for the benefit of all Americans was a public good...and, in so doing, serves the same fundamental purposes -- to foster an engaged and informed citizenry -- as the First Amendment. See Citizens United...('The right of citizens to inquire, to hear, to speak, and to use information to reach consensus is a precondition to enlighted self-government and a necessary means to protect it."

5. Two pillars of the Act have been central to its success.  ...Second...the Act creates...a private entity, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (the Corporation or CPB), between the government and the ultimate recipient of appropriated funds"

6.  "Local Member Stations that are dedicated to serving their communities."

7. NPR and the Local Member Stations benefit from, and participate in, the structure for public radio created by Congress in the Act, including its funding mechanisms, and the statutory and constitutional protections that insulate them from governmental interference with their editorial decisions.

Executive Order violates the Act & Constitution

9.  The Order targets NPR and PBS expressly because, in the President's view, their news and other contnt is not 'fair, accurate, or unbiased.'"...

BACKGROUND

The Public Broadcasting Act and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

29.  ..."programs of high quality"...will be "obtained from diverse sources"... 396(g)(1).

40.  The Eligibility Criteria do not take into account the content or viewpoiont of a local public radio station's programming.

National Public Radio

44.  NPR is an independent, nonprofit media organization...NPR is not a public radio station, nor does it operate one...NPR's mission is to work with those local pubic radio stations to cultivate an informed public...

48.  NPR upholds the highest standards of public service in journalism.  NPR's excellence in journalism has been repeatedly recognized...

49.  NPR ensures the integrity and high standards of its journalism through multiple, rigorous safeguards.  It maintains an editorial firewall that protects against interference in editorial decision-making by its management or external actors, and it requires all editorial staff to adhere to stringent ethics policies set out in the NPR Ethics Handbook. ..

58. Approximately $4.3 million of that funding came from competitive grants used, among other things, to provide safety and security for journalists working in war zones, produce content regarding the war in Ukraine, and provide support for local news stations in rural areas.

President Trump and his Administration Attack NPR and Threaten Retaliation (pp. 19 -21)

74. Since his first term in office, President Trump has repeatedly expressed his disagreement with the editorial decisions reflected in the speech and viewpoints of programming offered by NPR and PBS....

75. On March 25, 2025, President Trump announced in a press conference that he would “love to” defund NPR and PBS because of his belief that they are “biased.”

The Administration Purports to Fire Three CPB Board Members and Assert Control over CPB (pp. 21- 22)

President Trump Issues the Executive Order Purporting to Terminate All Funding to NPR and PBS Based on the Content and Perceived Viewpoint of Their Speech (pp. 22-24)

86.  based on the peerceived viwpoint of some thier programming: It alleges that 'neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events." ...funding termination is necessary to "ensure that Federal funding does not supported biased and partisan news coverage."

92. A “Fact Sheet” and press release, which the White House published accompanying the Order, confirm that the Order is motivated by a hostility toward the perceived viewpoints expressed by NPR and PBS. The “Fact Sheet,” headlined “President Donald J. Trump Ends the Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,” alleges that “NPR and PBS have fueled partisanship and left-wing propaganda with taxpayer dollars.” Fact Sheet. It then lists specific news coverage and editorial choices with which the President disagrees, ranging from coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic to content featured on Valentine’s Day. Id. 93. The press release, entitled “President Trump Finally Ends the Madness of NPR, PBS,” accuses NPR and PBS of “spread[ing] radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’” Expanding on the “Fact Sheet,” the press release contains nineteen bullets and sub-bullets cataloguing (and mischaracterizing) news and other content by NPR and PBS exemplifying the types of editorial decisions that prompted the issuance of the Order. 94. As evidenced by the President’s statements leading up to the Order, the documents accompanying it, and the text of the Order itself, the sole, express basis of the Order is the President’s disapproval of the content of the speech and news reporting of NPR and PBS.

94.  "the sole basis of the Order is the President's disapproval of the content of the speech and news reporting of NPR and PBS"

The Order's Immediate Consequences for NPR and the Local Member Stations (p. 24- )

102.  Local Member stations received CPB funding from $210,000 to $1.4 million for Fiscal Year 2025"

Claims (pp. 27 - )

115.  The President has no authority under the Constitution to take such actions. On the contrary, the power of the purse is reserved to Congress, and the President has no inherent authority to override Congress’s will on domestic spending decisions. By unilaterally imposing restrictions and conditions on funds in contravention of Congress, the Order violates the Separation of Powers and the Spending Clause of the Constitution. See U.S. Const. Art. I, § 8, cl. 1.

124. NPR and the Local Member Stations have engaged in protected speech by airing content produced or distributed by NPR, including the specific content listed in the Fact Sheet and press release.

125.“discourage the ‘uninhibited, robust, and wide-open debate that the First Amendment is intended to protect.’” Counterman v. Colorado, 600 U.S. 66, 75, 78 (2023) (quoting New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 270 (1964)); see also, e.g., Hustler Mag., Inc. v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46, 50 (1988) (“At the heart of the First Amendment is the recognition of the fundamental importance of the free flow of ideas and opinions on matters of public interest and concern.”).

126.  The Order seeks to sanction NPR because it is purportedly “biased” and because the President dislikes the content of certain of its programming.

134.  "editorial discretion in ways disfavored by the administration...as the Supreme Court has repeatedly held, the “‘exercise of editorial control and judgment’” is protected by the First Amendment, and “‘governmental regulation’” cannot supplant “the ‘crucial process’ of editorial choice.” Moody, 603 U.S. at 728-29 (quoting Miami Herald Publ’g Co. v. Tornillo, 418 U.S. 241, 258 (1974)). It is hard to conceive of a more blatant scheme to regulate the exercise of editorial discretion by Executive fiat.

145....NPR and its Member stations are partners in newsgathering and reporting, and NPR regularly airs reporting from its Member stations. ..."

154.  NPR receives about 31 percent of its total operating revenue through fees from local public radio stations, including its Member stations, and additional millions of dollars from CPB to support NPR’s coverage of particular issue areas, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine. NPR relies on CPB grants to support essential functions, and without federal funding, NPR would need to shutter or downsize collaborative newsrooms and rural reporting initiatives and, at the same time, also eliminate or scale back critical national and international coverage that serves the entire public radio system and is not replicable at scale on the local level. Loss of all revenue from local public radio stations would dramatically harm NPR’s ability to execute its journalistic mission.

158.  The Order punishes NPR because, in the government’s view, NPR does not “present[] a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events.” Order § 1. NPR did not have adequate notice that its journalistic activities would subject it to such punishment. Nor does the Order—which carries the implicit threat of additional adverse consequences for NPR and its Local Member Stations if their programming deviates from the government’s view of what is “fair” or “unbiased” in the future—provide any semblance of sufficient notice. Whether reporting is “fair” or “unbiased” inevitably will depend on the eye of the beholder, making the Order “so standardless that it . . . encourages seriously discriminatory enforcement.” Woodhull, 72 F.4th at 1303.

NPR

June 13, 2025 Memorandum in Support of Summary Judgment

p. 2 “Expressly predicated on the President’s belief that NPR is ‘biased,’ the Order aims to punish NPR for exercising its First Amendment rights…”

“There is no disputed issue of material fact.”

p. 3  “goal of… high quality news…[to] serve[] the same fundamental purpose -- to foster an engaged and informed citizenry – as the First Amendment”

p. 9  “Each of the Local Member Stations provides free, high-quality local news programming…  The Local Member Stations choose to air NPR’s programming because, in their editorial judgment, NPR provides high-quality journalism…The Local Member Stations’ audiences value the national and  international news coverage that NPR provides…”

 pp. 9-10 “The Executive Branch Targets Public Media”   P. 13 “specific NPR articles, statements, and editorial decisions with which the President disagrees”

p. 18:  “Congress enacted the PBA to promote First Amendment values.  By supporting public broadcasting with federal funds, the Act fosters the engaged and informed citizenry that ‘is a precondition to enlightened self-government and a necessary means to protect it.’ Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm’n, 668 U.S. 310, 339 (2010).”

June 13, 2025 Statement of Undisputed Material Facts

7. NPR maintains an editorial firewall intended to protect NPR’s newsroom from political and other interference in its editorial decisions. Id. at 3 (¶ 6).

8. NPR requires all editorial staff—defined as staff members who play a role in shaping the journalistic or creative direction of NPR’s content—to adhere to ethics policies set out in the NPR Ethics Handbook, which instructs editorial staff to pursue the core journalistic values of accuracy, fairness, completeness, honesty, independence, impartiality, transparency, accountability, respect, and excellence. Id. (¶ 7).

9. Among other things, the NPR Ethics Handbook prohibits staff connected with news coverage from making contributions to political campaigns or referendums. Id.

17.  Member stations choose to acquire content from NPR for a variety of reasons…and their own journalistic and editorial judgments about the quality of NPR’s programming. Id. (¶13)…

47.  Approximately $4.3 million of CPB funding came from competitive grants used, among other things, to provide safety and security for journalists working in war zones, produce content regarding the war in Ukraine, and provide support for local news stations in rural areas. Kwon Decl. at 6 (¶ 21).

59. Aspen Public Radio broadcasts local news reported by a team of local journalists, as well as over two dozen national public radio programs, including from NPR and other distributors of national and international news. Id. at 2 (¶ 5).

60. Aspen Public Radio has been an NPR Member station since 1990 and, for most of its existence, NPR programming has been part of the station’s broadcast offerings. Id. at 3 (¶ 13).

62. Aspen Public Radio airs NPR programming because it believes NPR to be a trusted brand and because its audience has repeatedly asked for this programming. Id. at 3–4 (¶ 13).

90. CPR chooses to include NPR programming because it believes that NPR offers an efficient and trusted way to deliver national and international news directly from communities across the country and around the globe. In CPR’s view, NPR programs go beyond daily headlines, sharing stories that inspire, spark curiosity, and highlight the shared human experience. Id.

93. NPR news is a significant part of the complete package of programming CPR provides to listeners, which also includes local and regional news coverage. Id.

118. KSUT chooses to include NPR programming among the slate of programs it broadcasts because it believes that NPR programming is affordable and of high quality, and it resonates with its listeners. Id.

119. As an independent public radio station, KSUT exercises editorial judgment to choose what to put on air, and it chooses to air NPR programming based on its assessment of the value it brings to listeners and KSUT. Id.

IV. Executive Order 14290

A. Background

146.  On March 25, 2025, President Trump announced in a press conference that he would “love to” defund NPR and PBS because of his belief that they are “biased.”1

B. The Executive Order and Accompanying Materials

178. NPR news and other programming is the product of decades of credibility-building, editorial rigor, and community trust. Id.; Graham Decl. at 5 (¶ 18); Richardson Decl. at 3–4 (¶ 13); Vanderwilt Decl. at 3 (¶ 12).

179. If NPR were forced to reduce or eliminate news coverage, it would lose the confidence of its Member stations, other public radio stations that air NPR programming, listeners, and supporters. Kwon Decl. at 8 (¶ 31).

180. If forced to reduce or eliminate news coverage and other programming, NPR expects to lose millions of listeners and supporters—suffering irremediable institutional damage. Id.

181. Kwon understands that the Order, by basing its directives on the content and perceived viewpoints expressed in NPR’s news and other programming, puts NPR on notice that it must adapt its journalistic and editorial choices to suit the government’s preferences if it is ever to receive federal funding again. Id. at 9 (¶ 35).

195. If the Order’s restriction on the use of CSG funds is applied to all Member stations, that will likely impact NPR’s ability to offer the same high-quality news and other programming for the same amount that Aspen Public Radio currently pays. Id.