上诉法院裁定 Kari Lake 违法解职美国之音台长：解职须经独立委员会批准
美国哥伦比亚特区巡回上诉法院11月10日一致裁定，美国全球媒体总署（USAGM）领导层解职美国之音（VOA）台长 Michael Abramowitz 的做法违法。三名法官组成的合议庭维持下级法院的永久禁令，确认未经国际广播咨询委员会批准，不得解职美国之音台长。
这份判决由法官 Cornelia Pillard 主笔，首席法官 Sri Srinivasan 与法官 Florence Pan 加入，三人一致维持哥伦比亚特区地区法官 Royce Lamberth 2025年8月28日的裁定。Lamberth 当时禁止 USAGM 在未经委员会批准的情况下解职 Abramowitz，政府随后提出上诉，案号 No. 25-5314。
争议的核心是《美国法典》第22编第6205(e)条。2020年 USAGM 一度大批撤换下属广播机构负责人之后，国会修法规定，包括美国之音在内的各广播机构负责人，其任命与解职须经国际广播咨询委员会多数批准，该委员会是成员经参议院确认的独立机构。判决书写道：「全球媒体总署的领导层无视了这部法律，试图单方面解职美国之音台长 Michael Abramowitz。」政府在上诉中承认，这次解职没有经过委员会批准，违反了该条文，但主张这一限制侵夺了总统的人事任免权。
合议庭驳回了这一主张。判决书指出，美国之音台长属于宪法上的下级官员，国会可以把下级官员的任命与解职权授予部门首长，国际广播咨询委员会即属此类部门首长；委员会成员由总统任命、总统可随时撤换，总统对台长人选仍保有最终控制。合议庭同时裁定，这类争议不必先走《文官改革法》下的行政申诉程序，地区法院有权直接审理执行这部法律。判决书还写道，这项保障「不是一部普通的雇佣法律，而是防止有人破坏那道保护美国之音及各联播机构新闻操守的防火墙的持久屏障」。
Abramowitz 于2024年4月经委员会一致批准出任美国之音台长。特朗普总统2025年初重返白宫后，解职了委员会七名成员中的六人，委员会自2025年1月起达不到法定人数、无法举行有效投票，余下一席由国务卿卢比奥当然担任。2025年3月14日的行政令要求 USAGM 大幅收缩之后，代理首席执行官 Victor Morales 与代理首席执行官高级顾问 Kari Lake 让 Abramowitz 与约1,300名美国之音员工无限期行政休假；同年7月，署方通知 Abramowitz 调任北卡罗来纳州 Greenville 发射站的首席管理官，他拒绝后，署方于8月1日通知将其解职。
Abramowitz 在裁决后发表声明说：「我对这一结果感到欣慰，期待着回到美国之音为美国人民在全球所做的重要工作中去。」他还表示，自己在两年多前经两党支持合法就任，如今已没有任何理由阻止他履职。USAGM 未立即回应置评请求。政府接下来可以请求巡回法院全体法官重审，也可以上诉到美国最高法院，截至11月11日尚未公布决定。这项禁令只处理台长解职一事，Abramowitz 目前仍在行政休假中；USAGM 与美国之音整体去留的争议，仍在其他诉讼中进行。
（来源：美国哥伦比亚特区巡回上诉法院）
D.C. Circuit Rules Kari Lake Illegally Fired VOA Director Michael Abramowitz, Upholds Injunction
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously on Nov. 10 that leaders of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) broke the law when they removed Voice of America (VOA) Director Michael Abramowitz. A three-judge panel affirmed a permanent injunction holding that the VOA director may not be removed without the approval of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board.
Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote the opinion, joined by Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Florence Pan. The panel affirmed the Aug. 28, 2025 ruling of U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who had barred USAGM from removing Abramowitz without Board approval. The government appealed in Abramowitz v. Lake, No. 25-5314.
At the center of the case is 22 U.S.C. § 6205(e). After a wave of firings at the agency in 2020, Congress amended the law so that the heads of the U.S.-funded broadcasters, including VOA, may be appointed or removed only with the majority approval of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board, an independent body whose members are confirmed by the Senate. "The leaders of the Agency for Global Media ignored that statute when they attempted unilaterally to fire Michael Abramowitz, the head of Voice of America," the opinion states. The government conceded on appeal that the removal violated the statute because the Board never approved it, but argued that the restriction infringed the president's removal power.
The panel rejected that argument. The VOA director is an inferior officer, the court held, and Congress may vest authority to appoint and remove inferior officers in a department head, a status the Broadcasting Board holds. Because Board members serve at the president's pleasure, the president retains ultimate control over the directorship. The court also held that Abramowitz was not required to pursue his claim through the Civil Service Reform Act's administrative process, and that the district court had jurisdiction to enforce the statute directly. The statutory safeguard, the opinion added, is "not a standard employment law, but a durable barrier against any breach of the firewall protecting the journalistic integrity of Voice of America and the affiliate networks."
Abramowitz was appointed VOA director in April 2024 with the Board's unanimous approval. After returning to the White House in early 2025, President Trump removed six of the Board's seven members, and the Board has lacked a quorum to vote since January 2025; its remaining seat belongs ex officio to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Following a March 14, 2025 executive order directing USAGM to shrink to the legal minimum, Acting CEO Victor Morales and Kari Lake, then senior adviser to the acting CEO, placed Abramowitz and about 1,300 VOA employees on indefinite administrative leave. In July 2025 the agency notified Abramowitz that he would be reassigned to a chief management officer post at its transmitting station in Greenville, North Carolina; after he refused, officials notified him on Aug. 1, 2025 that he was removed.
"I am gratified by this result and look forward to getting back to the important work Voice of America does worldwide on behalf of the American people," Abramowitz said in a statement after the ruling, adding that there is no longer any reason for the government to prevent him from doing the job to which he was legally installed on a bipartisan basis more than two years ago. USAGM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government may next seek rehearing by the full D.C. Circuit or review by the U.S. Supreme Court; no decision had been announced as of Nov. 11. The injunction decides only the director's removal, and Abramowitz remains on administrative leave, while the broader legal fight over the future of USAGM and Voice of America continues in other cases.
(Source: U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit)
来源：美国哥伦比亚特区巡回上诉法院
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于华盛顿的美国之音总部入口铭牌。照片：G. Edward Johnson（CC BY 4.0），经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Voice of America headquarters entrance sign in Washington, D.C. (G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.)
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