President Donald Trump has invoked executive privilege in a lawsuit concerning the Kennedy Center brought by Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH). White House associate counsel Josh Hoyt submitted a court declaration on Thursday asserting that Trump is claiming presidential communications privilege for information and documents requested by Beatty and her legal team. This privilege aims to prevent the disclosure of information requested by Beatty, citing the separation of powers.
Hoyt stated that the privilege covers "information, documents, and communications shared between the President, his advisors (government and non-government), and Kennedy Center staff, pertaining to the management and operation of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts." He added that it also includes communications between Trump’s advisers and Kennedy Center staff regarding decision-making related to the facility.
The Department of Justice lawyers submitted Hoyt’s declaration alongside a response from the Trump administration, asking the court to deny Beatty’s motion to compel information regarding White House communications with the Kennedy Center. The administration's lawyers described Beatty’s motion as a "fishing expedition" that raises "obvious separation-of-powers concerns."
Beatty's legal team filed the motion to compel after Kennedy Center Executive Director Matt Floca invoked the presidential communications privilege during his testimony. This privilege was invoked in response to inquiries about Floca’s discussions with Trump and other executive branch officials, according to court documents.
With the invocation of presidential communications privilege by the Trump administration, the court now faces the decision to either grant Beatty’s motion to compel and reject the administration's claim of executive privilege or to side with the administration, thereby allowing the use of executive privilege to block communications from Beatty.
This development is part of an ongoing legal dispute between the Trump administration and Beatty, who is an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board. Beatty has sued the administration over plans to close the facility for a two-year renovation and the intention to rename the center after Trump.
The main building of the performing arts center is currently closed while assessing its safety for public reopening. The name-change initiative has been delayed as the administration and the Kennedy Center board debate whether Trump should be acknowledged on the facade for his contributions to the center and its planned reconstruction, without renaming it entirely.
Beatty’s legal representatives have stated that Trump "improperly" invoked executive privilege, as reported by the Washington Examiner. Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Action and Nathaniel Zelinsky of Washington Litigation Group, representing Beatty, expressed that Trump’s actions are an attempt to shield his management of the Kennedy Center. They emphasized the seriousness of the matter, noting that the Supreme Court has indicated that executive privilege should not be invoked lightly, which they argue is being disregarded by the Department of Justice in this instance.