The far-Left Atlantic wrote a hit piece on Kari Lake last week, leveling accusations of mismanagement and self-promotion at the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM). However, the Atlantic has been exposed for intentionally misrepresenting Lake’s statements in response to alleged waste of taxpayer dollars.
“The Arizona politician has wasted millions of dollars while blocking U.S. efforts to bring reliable news to repressive countries,” the article by Anne Applebaum and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez states in its subheading.
The lengthy piece, titled “What Is Kari Lake Trying to Achieve?” goes on to paint Lake as a partisan pro-Trump sycophant, who did “profound damage to America’s foreign broadcasters, and to America’s ability to communicate with the world” and who “ceded influence to Chinese and Russian state media all over the world,” all in an effort to appease Trump and Elon Musk.
She is further smeared for defunding USAGM’s globalist propaganda-pushing grantees, speaking out against stolen elections, “broadcasting conspiracy theories,” gutting the agency of unscrupulous employees and replacing them with better-suited allies, and pushing a pro-America message to the world, among other disingenuous accusations.
A central point of the story concerns the alleged waste of hundreds of millions of dollars during Lake’s tenure at the agency, using selective quotes to claim she hadn’t “disputed any of the numbers.”
The Gateway Pundit obtained a copy of quotes that Lake provided to the Atlantic’s associate editor, Yvonne Kim. In an email to Kim, Lake answered a long list of questions on topics, ranging from a potential 2026 candidacy for Lake, to her dismantling of the agency, to claims that Lake had cost the agency more than $200 million in unnecessary expenses.
The answers show that Lake previously refuted the numbers in statements to the Atlantic on February 4, one full week before the article was published, but her statements were not used in full in order to portray the claims as accurate. A spokesperson for Lake wrote Kim in an email with Lake’s comments, “I expect when any of these mischaracterizations and lies are printed in your fake news rag that they will be accompanied by Kari’s full statements related to that question/topic. Please print her statements in full. Don’t take the liberty of twisting her words into whatever narrative your pathetic excuse for an ‘article’ seems desperate to manufacture.”
In one portion of the article the writers estimate that an additional $50 million has been spent by the agency after Lake offered employees a buyout package, which reduced the USAGM workforce by 85%, and blames her for a federal judge’s decision to block the firing of employees who continue to receive salaries and benefits on administrative leave months later. Lake’s statement did not refute these numbers but instead blamed an ‘activist judge’ for obstructing her plans,” the story reads. The writers, though, conveniently leave out Lake’s full statement, which reads,
“I terminated 85% of federal employees at USAGM. A radical activist judge on a power trip has blocked that effort, forcing taxpayers to keep funding payrolls that should have ended months ago. If you weren’t such an activist reporter, you’d recognize that judicial overreach is the only roadblock here. Once this judge stops trying to run the executive branch, we will immediately complete the RIF and free-up these government workers to spread their wings and work in the private sector.”
Another claim in the article asserts that USAGM, under former CEO Amanda Bennett, entered a more than $200 million lease over 15 years for an office building on Pennsylvania Avenue, instead of staying in the agency’s former office, which would save the agency $150 million over the lease term. But Lake “abruptly canceled the lease” and ignored lease termination procedures, instead opting to move into a NASA-operated facility recently. The story claims the lease termination added an additional $16 million in costs, which Lake declined to pay, opening her to a lawsuit to recover the costs.
Lake previously responded to these claims, writing,
“Amanda Bennett ran straight to her husband’s media rag, the Washington Compost, to spin a narrative and cover up her disastrous — and possibly fraudulent — management at USAGM. Any decent journalist would read former CEO Michael Pack’s response to her panicked op-ed instead of repeating her pathetic attempt to save-face. Under my leadership, USAGM terminated her wasteful high-rise office lease that would have cost taxpayers $250 million over a 10-years. By consolidating at NASA, our combined rent and operating costs are just $2.46 million annually, saving taxpayers more than $22.5 million each year ($225 million over ten years). USAGM is now modern, efficient and accountable to taxpayers. No one can say the same about the agency under the Biden auto-pen administration
That ludicrous sum is a pipe dream. There is no ‘settlement’. We have cancelled the lease. Period. The lease should have never been signed by Biden officials to begin with. They must hate the American taxpayer to try to saddle them with an outrageous quarter-of-a-BILLION-dollar lease to begin with.”
But the authors only write, “In her statement, Lake maintained that canceling the lease reduced the agency’s costs and will save more than $225 million over 10 years.”
Despite Lake’s responses and the intentional exclusion of her refutations, Anne Applebaum, the author of the piece, said in an X post on Tuesday, “Kari Lake has not disputed any of the numbers cited in our article.”
Kari Lake has not disputed any of the numbers cited in our article https://t.co/IWBDjuBRA8
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) February 17, 2026
Lake spokesman Alex Nicoll responded, noting that all 17 of her questions were answered, including three related to the numbers cited in her article. “ALL three were explicitly disputed on record. You just REFUSED to print her responses,” he said. “Are you dishonest, blind, or just stupid?”
Lake responded, “I disputed EVERYTHING the deep-state clown @anneapplebaum wrote.”
“She just chose not to use my responses because my responses destroyed her BS fake-news narrative.”
I disputed EVERYTHING the deep-state clown @anneapplebaum wrote. She just chose not to use my responses because my responses destroyed her BS fake-news narrative. https://t.co/F1JG3H717Q
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) February 18, 2026
Additional claims in the article include that Lake visited the White House in October and was “trying to get the president’s endorsement for a congressional race.” The piece paints Lake as desperate, alleging that she sat waiting in a White House lobby for “hours” to meet with President Trump. However, a source at USAGM told The Gateway Pundit that she never went to the White House in October and has not discussed the prospect of running for office with the President, pointing to her busy schedule at USAGM.
Lake further wrote to the Atlantic, “The President has always been very gracious and generous when I have requested time with him and I appreciate that. I would never divulge any details about conversations with the President or frankly anyone else with such a disreputable source like The Atlantic. ”
In one of the questions for Kari Lake, Yvonne Kim laughably points to reporting that Lake was “currently in Prague holding meetings at the RFE/RL headquarters,” which Lake responded to by saying, “I am not currently in Prague.” The final story still went on to claim that Lake “met staff last week at the main headquarters of RFE/RL in Prague.”
Author Yvonne Wingett Sanchez refused to speak to The Gateway Pundit and comment on the piece, and the Atlantic’s associate editor, Yvonne Kim could not be reached for comment.
The questions posed to Lake by the Atlantic, as well as her answers from February 4, can be found below:
Various sources told The Atlantic that Lake went to the White House in October to seek President Trump’s endorsement in an Arizona congressional race. They say she waited for hours in a White House lobby, but was only able to share her pitch with a lower-ranking aide, who did not convey support for her candidacy. Do you wish to comment on this?
Your “ various sources” must be blind, deaf and dumb, and you are certainly lazy. Every shred of this question is incorrect and no one with an ounce of journalistic integrity would ask a question this dishonest. The President has always been very gracious and generous when I have requested time with him and I appreciate that. I would never divulge any details about conversations with the President or frankly anyone else with such a disreputable source like The Atlantic.
Is Lake preparing to run for office in Arizona or Iowa? Has she interviewed or retained any campaign staff or consultants?
If and when I decide to run for office, The Atlantic will be the very last to know.
Former staffers at USAGM told The Atlantic that, upon joining USAGM, Lake initially made decisions without consulting with senior officials at VOA, RFA or RFE/RL. One official stated that leaders of all the broadcasters have reached out to Lake and her staff, and continue to do so, to little effect. Do you wish to comment on these characterizations?
“Former staffers” have no idea what is actually going on at the agency. Our agency is the subject of numerous malicious lawsuits and therefore will not engage in open-discussions with those suing us. It would be foolish to do so during active litigation.
VOA director Michael Abramowitz said that he made multiple unsuccessful attempts to engage Lake both directly and through intermediaries; he only met her two times, once by accident. On the other occasion, he said, he gave Lake a briefing book his staff had prepared for her, but that Lake never followed up after indicating she would read it. Do you wish to comment on these characterizations of your interactions with Abramowitz?
See above.
One VOA source told The Atlantic that Lake was rarely seen in the VOA office, saying she was in the DC building only a couple of times between a six-month period in 2025. Do you wish to comment on this?
I work 8-12+ hours a day, often 7-days a week. I haven’t taken a vacation day since starting at USAGM. Frankly, most of your “sources” probably wish I didn’t work so hard.
This source also described Lake’s team at the State Department, also including Mora Namdar, John Zadrozny, and Frank Wuco, as seemingly “distrustful of federal employees, as part of the so-called deep state.” Do you wish to comment on these characterizations?
Get better sources. None of those people are on my “team” at the US Department of State.
Lake indicated in her deposition that she spends more time at the State Department office than at VOA headquarters. Sources told The Atlantic that Lake didn’t invite many people to her State Department office either. How does she split her time between VOA and State Department headquarters/work?
Why would I invite people to my Department of State Office? I am working, not entertaining.
Sources told The Atlantic that Lake failed to follow proper procedures for terminating the lease of USAGM’s new headquarters in Washington, and that USAGM opted not to pay a proposed settlement of about $17 million for prematurely ending the lease. One staff member said they believed this to be because payment would undercut Lake’s argument that “it’s cheaper to get rid of these things than to keep them.” Why did USAGM choose not to follow the contractual procedures for terminating the lease? Do you wish to comment on this?
That ludicrous sum is a pipe dream. There is no “settlement”. We have cancelled the lease. Period. The lease should have never been signed by Biden officials to begin with. They must hate the American taxpayer to try to saddle them with an outrageous quarter-of-a-BILLION-dollar lease to begin with.
Following the lease’s termination, the former VOA director Amanda Bennett published an op-ed refuting Lake’s public claims about the new building. Bennett wrote that the annual rent was lower than in its previous office, and that the deal would have saved more than $150 million over its 15-year lease. Do you wish to comment on her statements?
Amanda Bennett ran straight to her husband’s media rag, the Washington Compost, to spin a narrative and cover up her disastrous — and possibly fraudulent — management at USAGM. Any decent journalist would read former CEO Michael Pack’s response to her panicked op-ed instead of repeating her pathetic attempt to save-face. Under my leadership, USAGM terminated her wasteful high-rise office lease that would have cost taxpayers $250 million over a 10-years. By consolidating at NASA, our combined rent and operating costs are just $2.46 million annually, saving taxpayers more than $22.5 million each year ($225 million over ten years). USAGM is now modern, efficient and accountable to taxpayers. No one can say the same about the agency under the Biden auto-pen administration
Our reporting indicates that VOA and other USAGM broadcasters have also canceled other leases and contracts around the world, often at a cost to the agency. Do you wish to comment on these assertions?
“We are successfully modernizing and right-sizing USAGM to operate more efficiently while looking out everyday for American taxpayers. If you have a problem with that, cry more.
A source from USAGM told The Atlantic that Lake abruptly canceled visas of broadcasters’ foreign employees. This forced some to immediately leave the U.S. or, for those from repressive countries, to scramble to find somewhere safe to live. Do you wish to comment on these statements?
You’re welcome. Under my leadership, USAGM will no longer abuse the US Visa system to bring people from countries hostile to the United States. I also changed policy to ensure we ONLY hire US Citizens as government employees at USAGM.
A minority report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations estimated that USAGM spent more than $69 million from March to July paying employees who were on leave. Our calculations indicate that, based on average salary levels, the agency would have spent about $50 million more since August/September. Do you have data showing how much USAGM has spent paying employees on leave? Do you wish to comment further on that estimate?
I terminated 85% of federal employees at USAGM. A radical activist judge on a power trip has blocked that effort, forcing taxpayers to keep funding payrolls that should have ended months ago. If you weren’t such an activist reporter, you’d recognize that judicial overreach is the only roadblock here. Once this judge stops trying to run the executive branch, we will immediately complete the RIF and free-up these government workers to spread their wings and work in the private sector.
Sources have told The Atlantic that Lake has been increasingly hiring contractors at USAGM instead of asking staff on administrative leave to return. How many contractors have been hired in the past six months?
We are contractors as needed.
The agency’s mission historically has been to provide nonpartisan news coverage. Much of the material now being produced by VOA’s Chinese-language channel is highly complimentary about President Trump. What steps are being taken to ensure that agency contractors are nonpartisan journalists?
The Biden administration forced taxpayers to bankroll pro-CCP content at VOA. I know you’re sad that despicable era is over, but VOA is now broadcasting content in alignment with American foreign policy and national security strategy. All editorial decisions made by the professionals at Voice of America.
Reporting by The Atlantic and other news organizations indicates that Lake kept RFE/RL from using USAGM transmission equipment in Iran during recent protests and an internet blackout. Why wasn’t that stricture lifted to allow Radio Farda to access the equipment? Do you wish to comment on criticism that this decision hampered the U.S. government’s ability to transmit important information during international crises?
RFE/RL leadership agreed they were putting out a message that was counter to US policy. Since they are fully funded by the American taxpayer, they agreed that was not appropriate. They asked for time to align their messaging with American foreign policy and national security strategy— once they gave us the thumbs-up we stepped in to help them.
Lake’s critics say that, because of the dismantling of the broadcast outlets under her supervision, U.S. government is ceding influence overseas, citing examples of Chinese and Russian state media taking over broadcast spots and limited Spanish-language services covering events in Venezuela. Do you wish to comment on these criticisms?
This ‘criticism’ originates with Fake News outlets like NPR, the New York Times, and the Washington Post who operate as mouthpieces for the deep state and have been wrong about virtually everything we’re doing at USAGM. That tells you everything you need to know.
Our reporting indicates that Lake is currently in Prague holding meetings at the RFE/RL headquarters. Is this accurate?
I am not currently in Prague.
The post EXCLUSIVE: Far-Left Atlantic CAUGHT Writing Bogus Hit Piece on USAGM Head Kari Lake, Selectively Editing Lake’s Answers to Their Questions – Lake Responds! appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.