Prof. Richard Painter Interviewed on Montana Public Radio About Trump’s Attempt to Stop Funding Public Broadcasting

Professor Richard Painter, S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law, was interviewed on Montana Public Radio about Donald Trump’s executive order telling the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or CPB, to stop funding NPR and PBS. Trump’s order calls NPR and PBS’ coverage biased and says Americans have plenty of news options and government funding for NPR and PBS is outdated and unnecessary. In public statements, CPB and NPR questioned Trump’s authority to restrict how CPB spends funds appropriated by Congress. Prof. Painter said that CPB was created to be separate from those in political power. “CPB is an independent corporation created by Congress, and there’s nothing I see in the statute that would give the president of the United States the authority to dictate how the money is spent.”