President Donald Trump wants his name on the Kennedy Center. But a judge has ruled it cannot be placed there without authorization by Congress.
A new photo shows President Donald Trump eyeing a poster that appears to reference the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts being demolished, hours after he warned that the building "will end up being ripped down" if he is not properly recognized for his efforts to renovate it.
Rep. Joyce Beatty , the Ohio Democrat battling Trump over his efforts to get his name affixed to the Kennedy Center, notified a federal judge Thursday morning in a court filing about the image and the president's threat.
Beatty, a day earlier, asked Judge Christopher Cooper to schedule an emergency hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on what she says is the "unlawful" closure of the Kennedy Center by its board of trustees in violation of a prior order by Cooper.
In her filing Thursday, Beatty's lawyers told Cooper, "Plaintiff files this Notice to apprise the Court of two new pieces of evidence that came to light last night."
"First, yesterday evening, in response to reporter questions regarding the Kennedy Center project, President Trump stated, 'for the Trump administration, for me, to get involved, and to take on long term, and to carry it, or to raise money to carry it, I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition,'" the filing said.
"'Because frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close, it will end up being ripped down,'" Trump had said, the lawyers noted.
The attorneys added, "Separately, a photo has been circulated on social media depicting President Trump reading a placard on Air Force One that appears to read 'Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.'"
The filing included a copy of the photo and a blown-up version showing the letters "DEMOLIS."
"Given the emergency nature of this matter ... Plaintiff wanted to make sure the Court and Defendants are aware of this new information," Beatty's lawyers told Cooper.
In a second filing Thursday morning, Beatty's lawyers asked Cooper to "enter an order making clear that either the wholesale demolition of the building or demolition that would make public access impossible would violate the Court's existing order."
The Department of Justice told Cooper in its own court filing that Beatty's request for a hearing should be denied, saying that the center's executive director Matt Floca on Wednesday had "decided to temporarily close the Center due to 'acute risks to public safety resulting from continued structural deterioration at the center."
The closure will last for seven days, unless extended, while Floca assesses safety risks, according to a declaration by the executive director filed by the DOJ.
The DOJ's attorneys noted that Cooper in May had enjoined Trump and the board from taking steps to effectuate the board's March 16 decision to close the center for repair and restoration."
"Defendants are in compliance with this order and, after two recent Board votes, intend to move for dissolution of the preliminary injunction to allow for the closure necessary to complete the restoration and renovations," the DOJ said.
"No part of the Court's preliminary injunction order forbids a temporary closure like this one," the filing said.
Reporting synthesized and verified under Nexvoro.tech editorial guidelines. Full primary records referenced via CNBC Top News.
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