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Pack Expands Purge at U.S. Global News Agency

VOA News

   Michael Pack, head of the U.S. government's global news networks, took
   steps Wednesday to remove several top officials in a move at least two
   said appeared to be retaliatory.

   In a statement sent to Politico and the New York Post, a U.S. Agency
   for Global Media spokesperson said the action was meant to restore
   "respect for the rule of law in our work" at the USAGM after a recent
   review found lax vetting of foreign and other journalists hired by
   agency's five networks, which include the Voice of America.

   The officials were placed on administrative leave, and their security
   clearances revoked.

   However, the highest-ranking official sidelined, Chief Financial
   Officer Grant Turner, said it was punishment for speaking up about
   "patterns of gross mismanagement" since Pack took over in June and
   about violations of the legal "firewall" that shields USAGM journalists
   from political interference.

   "I think this is really retaliation for a lot of issues that I've been
   bringing to the front office," Turner told VOA in an interview. He
   called the stated reasons for his removal "meritless."

   David Kligerman, who had served as general counsel for USAGM and
   previously the Voice of America, also was shoved out.

   "As a career civil servant, I was disappointed to learn of these
   actions," he said in a statement to VOA. "There is no other conclusion
   to draw except that it is in retaliation for attempting to do my job in
   an apolitical manner and to speak truth to power."

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