Antifa Loses Again
2020-09-05 06:59:17 UTC
New York (CNN Business)President Trump overrode his defense
secretary and vowed to continue funding Stars and Stripes, the
military's editorially independent newspaper that covers issues
relevant to members of the armed forces, after news the
administration ordered the organization to shutter leaked to the
public.
Trump tweeted Friday afternoon that the US "will NOT be cutting
funding" to the outlet. The President's tweet came as he faces
significant uproar over a report in The Atlantic that said he
disparaged military members.
The Defense Department, which notified Stars and Stripes in
February that it intended to cut funding, said in an August 4
memo to the outlet's publisher that it had "decided to
discontinue the publication" of the newspaper.
The memo, first reported Friday by USA Today and independently
obtained by CNN, instructed Stars and Stripes publisher Max
Lederer to provide the Defense Department a plan that
"dissolves" the organization by January 31, 2021. The memo said
Stars and Stripes should cease publishing by September 30, 2020,
when the fiscal year ends.
A Defense Department spokesperson deferred to the President's
tweet when CNN asked for comment.
Stars and Stripes, which was first produced during the Civil War
by Union soldiers, is partially funded by Congress. In its 2021
budget, the House specifically included funding for the
publication. The Senate, however, has not released its
appropriations bill for 2021.
If Congress chooses to fund Stars and Stripes in the 2021 fiscal
year, the outlet will continue publishing. But while Congress
wrestles over a 2021 budget, the Defense Department has stepped
in and ordered Stars and Stripes to shutter.
After the Defense Department communicated closure instructions
to Stars and Stripes, Sen. Lindsey Graham came to the
publication's defense, writing a letter to Secretary of Defense
Mark Esper saying that it would be "premature" to shutter the
outlet "before the Senate has had the opportunity to voice its
support."
"I urge you not to take actions that would deprive individuals
of this publication until Congress has appropriately completed
the appropriations process," Graham wrote in the August 26
letter. "Given the history and the importance of the Stars and
Stripes to the members of the Armed Forces, their families, and
civilian employees, I believe this request is more than
reasonable."
A spokesperson for Graham said that Esper has not yet responded
to his letter. A spokesperson for the Defense Department did not
provide a comment to CNN on Graham's letter to Esper.
Lederer, the Stars and Stripes publisher, told CNN on Friday
that the future of the outlet is "very uncertain" and that he is
prepared for both outcomes.
"From an organizational perspective, I am ensuring that we
maintain the capacity that we continue operations if that is the
decision by Congress and the President," Lederer said. "Which is
difficult when you're getting so close to having to maybe close."
The hope is that Congress will pass a continuing resolution that
temporarily provides funding for the outlet while it determines
the budget for 2021.
"My instinct right now is that we will still be publishing come
October," Lederer said.
Regardless, Lederer described the uncertainty hanging over Stars
and Stripes as "unsettling for a news organization" and said
"the anxiety level is extremely high" among staffers.
"There is a lot of concern," Lederer said, telling CNN that he
has had some staffers jump to other publications because of it.
Stars and Stripes receives approximately 35% of its budget from
the federal government, a spokesperson for the outlet told CNN
earlier this year. The rest of its funding comes from sales,
subscriptions, and advertising.
Lederer told CNN on Friday that he was not sure, however,
whether Stars and Stripes could use revenue generated through
its own means to continue publishing should the government cut
funding.
"That's a little unclear," Lederer said. "There is revenue that
we can go forward for a couple months."
Ernie Gates, the ombudsman for Stars and Stripes, told CNN
Friday that shutting the outlet down would "be fatal
interference and permanent censorship of a unique First
Amendment organization that has served U.S. troops reliably for
generations."
"To shut down Stars and Stripes on Oct. 1 would defy the
expressed will of the House and pre-empt full consideration by
the Senate," Gates said in an email. "There's every reason to
expect that the federal government will operate under a
Continuing Resolution when the current fiscal year ends on Sept.
30. Secretary Esper and the Defense Department should commit to
continuing to fund Stars and Stripes under such a scenario --
and when Congress completes the budget process, it should then
make Stars and Stripes' funding ironclad."
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/media/stars-and-stripes-
future/index.html
secretary and vowed to continue funding Stars and Stripes, the
military's editorially independent newspaper that covers issues
relevant to members of the armed forces, after news the
administration ordered the organization to shutter leaked to the
public.
Trump tweeted Friday afternoon that the US "will NOT be cutting
funding" to the outlet. The President's tweet came as he faces
significant uproar over a report in The Atlantic that said he
disparaged military members.
The Defense Department, which notified Stars and Stripes in
February that it intended to cut funding, said in an August 4
memo to the outlet's publisher that it had "decided to
discontinue the publication" of the newspaper.
The memo, first reported Friday by USA Today and independently
obtained by CNN, instructed Stars and Stripes publisher Max
Lederer to provide the Defense Department a plan that
"dissolves" the organization by January 31, 2021. The memo said
Stars and Stripes should cease publishing by September 30, 2020,
when the fiscal year ends.
A Defense Department spokesperson deferred to the President's
tweet when CNN asked for comment.
Stars and Stripes, which was first produced during the Civil War
by Union soldiers, is partially funded by Congress. In its 2021
budget, the House specifically included funding for the
publication. The Senate, however, has not released its
appropriations bill for 2021.
If Congress chooses to fund Stars and Stripes in the 2021 fiscal
year, the outlet will continue publishing. But while Congress
wrestles over a 2021 budget, the Defense Department has stepped
in and ordered Stars and Stripes to shutter.
After the Defense Department communicated closure instructions
to Stars and Stripes, Sen. Lindsey Graham came to the
publication's defense, writing a letter to Secretary of Defense
Mark Esper saying that it would be "premature" to shutter the
outlet "before the Senate has had the opportunity to voice its
support."
"I urge you not to take actions that would deprive individuals
of this publication until Congress has appropriately completed
the appropriations process," Graham wrote in the August 26
letter. "Given the history and the importance of the Stars and
Stripes to the members of the Armed Forces, their families, and
civilian employees, I believe this request is more than
reasonable."
A spokesperson for Graham said that Esper has not yet responded
to his letter. A spokesperson for the Defense Department did not
provide a comment to CNN on Graham's letter to Esper.
Lederer, the Stars and Stripes publisher, told CNN on Friday
that the future of the outlet is "very uncertain" and that he is
prepared for both outcomes.
"From an organizational perspective, I am ensuring that we
maintain the capacity that we continue operations if that is the
decision by Congress and the President," Lederer said. "Which is
difficult when you're getting so close to having to maybe close."
The hope is that Congress will pass a continuing resolution that
temporarily provides funding for the outlet while it determines
the budget for 2021.
"My instinct right now is that we will still be publishing come
October," Lederer said.
Regardless, Lederer described the uncertainty hanging over Stars
and Stripes as "unsettling for a news organization" and said
"the anxiety level is extremely high" among staffers.
"There is a lot of concern," Lederer said, telling CNN that he
has had some staffers jump to other publications because of it.
Stars and Stripes receives approximately 35% of its budget from
the federal government, a spokesperson for the outlet told CNN
earlier this year. The rest of its funding comes from sales,
subscriptions, and advertising.
Lederer told CNN on Friday that he was not sure, however,
whether Stars and Stripes could use revenue generated through
its own means to continue publishing should the government cut
funding.
"That's a little unclear," Lederer said. "There is revenue that
we can go forward for a couple months."
Ernie Gates, the ombudsman for Stars and Stripes, told CNN
Friday that shutting the outlet down would "be fatal
interference and permanent censorship of a unique First
Amendment organization that has served U.S. troops reliably for
generations."
"To shut down Stars and Stripes on Oct. 1 would defy the
expressed will of the House and pre-empt full consideration by
the Senate," Gates said in an email. "There's every reason to
expect that the federal government will operate under a
Continuing Resolution when the current fiscal year ends on Sept.
30. Secretary Esper and the Defense Department should commit to
continuing to fund Stars and Stripes under such a scenario --
and when Congress completes the budget process, it should then
make Stars and Stripes' funding ironclad."
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/media/stars-and-stripes-
future/index.html