Rep. Joyce Beatty is asking a federal judge to force the Justice Department to turn over documents about President Donald Trump’s role in the Kennedy Center’s planned two-year shutdown, accusing the administration of improperly shielding evidence behind presidential privilege.
In a motion filed Monday, Beatty’s attorneys said the administration has “stonewalled discovery” by withholding communications between Trump and Kennedy Center officials.
“Trump is the one running the show,” Beatty’s lawyers wrote, arguing that his role as chairman of the Kennedy Center’s board does not allow him to shield those communications.
The motion asks U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper to order the administration to turn over documents and answer questions about the closure.
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Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, has challenged Trump’s efforts to reshape the institution since he took control of its board and leadership.
The administration says the Kennedy Center needs extensive renovations because of deteriorating infrastructure and safety problems. But Trump has repeatedly linked the project to his demand that his name be recognized on the building.
In a Time magazine interview published last week, Trump declined to rule out demolishing the Kennedy Center if his name isn’t added to the center.
“I’m not committing to anything,” Trump said when asked whether he would agree not to bring wrecking balls to the building without congressional approval.
Beatty’s attorneys cited those comments as evidence that discovery into Trump’s communications with Kennedy Center officials is critical.
The filing also points to Cooper’s earlier finding that the board’s initial decision to close the center was based on a “stacked deck” and “serious informational deficits.” The board voted again in August and September to shut down the building for two years.
Beatty’s attorneys say Trump was closely involved in the closure effort from the start. According to the filing, he announced the two-year shutdown before the board voted on it and later joked that the board’s approval was “a little late.”
Matt Floca, the executive director for the Kennedy Center, also has testified that he had “numerous conversations” with Trump, sometimes “multiple times a day,” about the building. Trump weighed in on details including seat colors and repainting the center’s historic columns, according to the filing.
The administration previously relied on communications between Trump and Floca when defending the closure, Beatty’s attorneys wrote. Her lawyers now argue the government cannot use those communications to support its case while blocking Beatty from obtaining more evidence about them.
The Justice Department has asserted presidential communications privilege over requests involving Trump and White House officials, including records held by the Kennedy Center, according to the motion.
The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Beatty’s lawyers argue that privilege does not apply because the Kennedy Center is not part of the executive branch and Trump was acting as the institution’s board chairman.
“Defendants cannot collectively excuse themselves from the discovery obligations that would otherwise apply to all Board members just because one of them also happens to be President,” the filing says.
The administration produced about 100 documents on Sept. 30, including roughly 35 emails, according to Monday’s motion. Beatty’s attorneys say the Justice Department has withheld information about how the closure could affect performers, programming, employees, audiences, donors and the Kennedy Center’s finances.
The dispute is the latest in Beatty’s legal battle over Trump’s control of the Kennedy Center.
In May, Cooper ordered Trump’s name removed from the building and blocked the planned two-year closure. The board later tried to put his name back on the building, prompting another legal challenge from Beatty.
The Kennedy Center has been closed since Sept. 15. Cooper has also ordered the center to give advance notice before making changes to its renovation plans, including potential demolition.
Beatty’s latest motion asks Cooper to compel the administration to produce the disputed records.
“Absent the Court’s intervention, Defendants will be allowed to curate the record and hide the truth from the Court,” her attorneys wrote.
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