'Have You Ever Thought About That?': Sydney Kamlager-Dove And Kari Lake Spar Over VOA In Tense Hearing

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At today's House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) confronted Voice of America Director Kari Lake.

Transcript

00:00The ranking member and thank you Miss Lake for joining us today. I'm deeply concerned

00:08that what the Trump administration is doing to VOA and all of the independent broadcast networks

00:16is harming the United States and serving our adversaries. It seems like everyone is sort of

00:22saying the same thing even though they're using different examples. So Miss Lake, this is an easy

00:30question. Is it your goal to advance U.S. interests or the interests of our adversaries? We want to make

00:39sure we are advancing U.S. interests. Great. Thank you. And earlier, because I too have been here,

00:45a question was asked of you about Russia invading Ukraine and if Russia was an adversary. And you

00:54answered that question. But I would like it if you could just answer it again. Do you believe that

00:58Russia is one of our adversaries? Yes. Okay. Thank you. I do too. So when Trump decided to gut USAGM,

01:08the head of Russia Today, the Kremlin's state-controlled news broadcaster, actually said,

01:14quote, today is a holiday for me and my colleagues at RT and Sputnik. This is an awesome decision by

01:24Trump. So Miss Lake, why do you think the head of Russia Today would say this is an awesome decision

01:32by Trump? I'm really disturbed that we were spreading Russian propaganda and hiring Russian spies

01:37at Voice of America. Have you ever thought about that? Well, allegedly there is a Russian operative in

01:43the White House Office of Personnel. But you're not asking me questions. I'm asking you questions.

01:48The question is, why do you think the head of Russia Today would say this is an awesome decision by Trump?

01:56I don't know. I haven't talked to these people. Okay. Well, I think. Have you talked to them?

01:59But at least you're honest when you say you don't know. I think that the answer is obvious.

02:06And that crippling Voice of America actually allows Russia Today to spread propaganda without any

02:13opposition. And in fact, the PRC had a similar response. And in earlier lines of questioning,

02:21people suggested that the CCP was running VOA. You sort of inferred that that could be the truth.

02:28They have more control over VOA. Beijing was running the VOA, had people in there. So the Global

02:35Times, a Chinese state media outlet that spread CCP talking points, also celebrated your actions

02:43and called VOA, quote, a lie factory, pointing to their reports on human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

02:51And the Global Times also called VOA, quote, thoroughly biased propaganda poison. I feel like I have also

02:59heard that phrase used by members from across the aisle, my colleagues. And that line also could have

03:06been pulled right out of your opening statement. So Ms. Lane, do you think that VOA's reporting on

03:12China's genocide against the Uyghurs is a lie?

03:17You know, there's been some good reporting at VOA. I'm not saying all of it has been bad. But

03:23any time we're doing Chinese propaganda, when VOA decided to do a two-minute Chinese propaganda video

03:31and produce it, I got a problem with that. And I have a feeling that the men and women across this

03:34country do as well.

03:35I'm asking about something that many of our allies also care about. And we know China's position

03:41on the Uyghurs. And so I think it's important that we report on that and we do so in a true

03:49and factual basis. And I also think it's important to say that if you are dismantling, if you are

03:55crippling, even if you're arbitrarily shrinking without a plan, because we've heard you answer

04:01questions, but we have not been shared any kind of plan, that dismantling an agency that counters

04:07PRC propaganda, and allowing it to go unchecked is something we should be talking about.

04:14But it doesn't counter propaganda from the CCP.

04:16Well, if we're not here, if we're not here, then we cannot counter it.

04:19It spreads propaganda from the CCP.

04:20If we're not here, then we cannot counter it. And I know you have talked about what just happened

04:25with Iran, how everybody got put on administrative leave, and then the strikes happened, and then you ask people

04:31to come back because I guess somebody had a WTF moment. But then right after that, there was a reduction

04:38in force, which you just alluded to, to permanently eradicate many of their jobs. And so I am just saying

04:44that we have to have folks in place to respond to crises, immediate, emergent, on the horizon, and we can't do it

04:52with only two people in an office using a smartphone, waiting to get direction from a security advisor

05:00who hasn't even been confirmed or brought up for confirmation from the Senate. And with that, I yield back.

05:06General Lady's time has expired. I can say for myself, I appreciate that a lot in journalism are freelance journalists.

05:12One half the talk about the public health law.

05:13General Lady

05:28Let us continue.

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