Right-wing Trump appointee will purge staff who filed whistleblower complaints before Biden takes office
President Donald Trump's far-right appointee to the U.S. Agency for Global Media intends to do another staff purge just before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
Michael Pack wants to oust agency officials he put on administrative leave from Voice of America and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, CNBC said, citing information from a Democratic aide on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
According to the report, the human resources department in the agency is fighting back because civil servant employment protections should protect anyone associated with a whistleblower complaint against Pack.
In September, six whistleblowers came forward to allege misconduct by Pack in a 32-page complaint.Politico reported that the filing "accuses top officials at the taxpayer-funded media group of abusing their authority, violating the law and mismanaging the organization."
One accusation even cites Pack telling an aide to "research on the voting history of at least one employee at the media agency." That's a blatant violation of civil servant protections.
Security clearance lawyer Mark Zaid represents those on administrative leave and according to his understanding, this purge is forthcoming. He wouldn't comment further, however.
Pack already tried to fire the leaders of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia. Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden's transition team is already meeting with ousted former officials.
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