Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) condemned the Biden administration's silence on the Polish government's crackdown on “freedom of the press” and “rule of law” in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday. , obtained exclusively by Breitbart News.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk I took it TVP Info, a 24-hour public news channel, went off the air and “fired state media executives” claiming the move would make the channel more fair.
Lawmakers from the nationalist Law and Justice Party (PiS), TVP Info and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the move.
“Public media does not belong to PiS or any other political party,” said Pavol Chalai, head of RSF's EU/Balkans desk. Mr. Zarai urged Mr. Tusk to pass legislation to ensure “the independence of public media and the reduction of political influence in their supervision, funding and appointment of leaders.”
In a letter to Blinken obtained by Breitbart News, Vance accused not only the suppression of free speech but also the Biden administration's silence on the controversy.
“The dismissal of staff at Television Polska (TVP), Polski Broadcasting and Polish News Agency, which began soon after Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his political allies came to power, is a sign of this new government's commitment to media freedom and the rule of law. ,” the Ohio senators said in the letter.
Vance also said that in contrast to the lack of response to the Poland controversy, the Biden administration: raised President Trump's U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Director Michael Pack fires the heads of government-backed broadcast networks including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Cuba Broadcasting Corporation, and others. I am alarmed by what has happened.
The Ohio conservative said Biden's USAGM interim director called President Trump's firing of those directors “unconstitutional retaliation” and said the directors were “expelled from their positions.”
He added: “Biden administration officials haven't said anything, at least not publicly. The actions of Trump administration officials, while not involving the suspension of major networks, are nonetheless marked by striking similarities.” This would not have been the case if it had been attached.”
“While I do not agree with the plaintiff's opinion stated above, [from USAGM]it is unclear to me why these kinds of concerns have not been reflected in the Biden administration's stance toward the new Polish government,” Vance said.
“It is not immediately clear how the Biden administration's silence on the situation in Poland will mesh with past administrations' statements regarding press freedom in Central Europe,” Vance said. Indeed, in recent years, administration officials have seemed keen to comment on the state of the media in neighboring countries, particularly in Hungary, where the people elected a conservative government. ”
“Please encourage Poland's new government to reconsider any actions that could undermine its country and the freedoms that Polish and American citizens hold dear,” Vance added.
Read Vance's letter below.
Vance letter to Blinken on media freedom in Poland [1] by Breitbart News On Scribd
Sean Moran is a policy reporter at Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
