Kennedy Center Legal Fight: Trump Formally Asserts Executive Privilege to Withhold Records

Privilege claim reaches court

Trump invoked executive privilege to block Beatty, an Ohio Democrat, from obtaining certain records in her ongoing lawsuit over plans to temporarily close the Kennedy Center. The case concerns the board’s decision to shut the institution for two years for renovations.

During a deposition last week, a Justice Department lawyer repeatedly told Matthew Floca, the center’s executive director and chief operating officer, not to answer some questions, citing a protective claim of privilege. Justice Department lawyers separately called Beatty’s requests a “fishing expedition,” saying they raise separation-of-powers concerns. Beatty’s lawyers accused the department of asserting a sweeping privilege in an unprecedented way and asked the judge to require the center to provide the material.

Judge permits information gathering

Judge Cooper has allowed Beatty to seek information from the Kennedy Center about the closure decision and any possible demolition. He also permitted depositions, which are part of the legal discovery process.

Executive privilege is not absolute, and a sufficient demonstration of need may overcome it. The dispute therefore turns in part on whether Beatty can establish a need for the records she seeks.

Unusual role at arts center

The center’s trustees, including Trump administration officials and the president’s allies, chose Trump as chairman last year. He became the first sitting president to hold that position. Trump’s claim presents a new, untested issue: whether executive privilege applies to his conduct as chairman of the performing arts institution. Congress created the center in 1958, and it receives money from federal funding, ticket sales and private donations. Hoyt argued that Trump needs to understand the center’s management, operations, fundraising and planned activities because he appoints trustees and members of the related Advisory Committee on the Arts.

Lawsuit follows closure concerns

Beatty filed her lawsuit in December. She is an ex officio member of the board and is challenging its move to rename the institution the Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, as well as the proposed two-year closure. Concerns about demolition arose after Trump said last month that the center would close and “end up being ripped down” if he and his administration did not receive recognition for raising money and leading repairs.