Under Obama, the Voice of America, which is a taxpayer-funded organization intended to promote America and her values around the world, turned into a Democrat outreach program with a particular focus on the Muslim world. It recently put out an Urdu-language and English-language video that was widely circulated amongst Muslims at home and abroad, and that is an obvious Biden campaign ad and a Muslim get-out-the-vote (for Democrats) effort.

The Voice of America (“VOA”) is a multimedia agency that broadcasts outside of the U.S. It was founded in 1942 specifically to promote American interests abroad. It now reaches countries around the globe and offers programs in 47 different languages. It operates under the aegis of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (“USAGM”)

In June 2018, President Trump announced that he was nominating Michael Pack to serve as the head of the USAGM. Thanks to the Democrats’ tactic of slow-walking his nominations to fill various positions, the hearing on Pack’s nomination didn’t take place until September 2019. Democrats tried to block Pack’s appointment, saying that he was too partisan. It wasn’t until June 4, 2020, that Republicans were finally able to secure Pack’s nomination.

The Democrats’ assertion that partisanship justified blocking Pack’s appointment was interesting, to say the least, given that the agency was already operating in a partisan way. For example, in April, the Trump administration contended that the VOA was uncritically relaying Chinese propaganda about the Wuhan virus.

Once Pack was installed at the USAGM, he immediately fired the heads of various agencies. The media insisted that this was a purge to install partisan loyalists. It’s more reasonable to believe that Pack was trying to return the various USAGM departments to their original mission of promoting America abroad.

Firing the heads of various departments was a good start, but it wasn’t enough. The rank-and-file workers were apparently still busy promoting a pro-Democrat party and pro-Muslim agenda.

The VOA is currently being investigated for distributing a 2-minute video to its Urdu services that is nothing more than an ad urging Muslims in America, both Urdu and English speaking, to vote for Biden and other Muslim candidates in Congress. This is not an exaggeration. There is no other way to understand this video:

Sara Carter reports that Pack will be investigating the video, which not only violates VOA’s charter and codes but also potentially violates the Hatch Act, which forbids federal employees from engaging in partisan political activities:

The agency overseeing U.S. foreign broadcasting services announced Thursday that it has launched an investigation into Voice of America – a major multi-media agency with extensive global reach – after it promoted a video that “can only be described as an apparent election advertisement for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee” former Vice President Joe Biden.

CEO Michael Pack, with the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) announced the investigation into Voice of America [VOA] shortly after  SaraACarter.com  first reported the political ad for Biden promoted by the VOA’s Urdu services on all their multi-media platforms. Moreover, the video was branded with VOA logos throughout and at the end of the two minute ad.

[snip]

“USAGM staff members who attempt to influence American elections will be held accountable,” said Pack in the press release. “Our networks comprise the U.S.’s megaphone to the world, and this invaluable instrument is generously funded by the American people. To safeguard our agency’s reputation and the integrity of our content, I will continue to ensure that violations of journalistic standards and principles are dealt with swiftly and fairly. This investigation – and, indeed, every action that I have taken since starting my tenure last month – has been to repair USAGM so that, once again, U.S. government international broadcasting advances the American national interest.”

It is to be hoped that Pack will ensure that, going forward, the Voice of America is just that, rather than the voice of the Democrat party or any other special interest groups.

As for Pack’s promise that “USAGM staff members . . . will be held accountable,” I’m not holding my breath. The sad reality of Washington D.C. is that leftists are never held accountable. On the one hand, the Federal Appellate Court in the District of Columbia will turn Gen. Michael Flynn, who didn’t collude with or lie to anybody, into the unhappy defendant trapped in Franz Kafka’s The Trial. On the other hand, people who worked to advance Obama’s agenda or oppose Trump’s get multi-million-dollar book deals.

Image: YouTube screengrab