Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Allow Congresswoman Beatty to Participate in Kennedy Center Demolition Meeting and Produce Information Before Meeting

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered(link is external) the Trump administration to ensure Congresswoman Joyce Beatty is provided with the crucial information about Donald Trump's plan to close the Kennedy Center and that she can participate in next week's Kennedy Center Board meeting.

"I serve on the Board on behalf of my colleagues in Congress and the American people, and I take that responsibility seriously. The Kennedy Center is a national cultural institution created by Congress and supported by the American public," said Congresswoman Beatty. "No president has the authority to shut Congress out of the governance of the Kennedy Center, much less unilaterally rename or demolish it. We will not stand by while an important part of our national heritage is jeopardized, and I intend to make that clear at next week's board meeting."

The ruling orders the administration to allow Rep. Beatty to participate at the March 16 meeting, where trustees are expected to discuss the president's plan to close and potentially demolish the Kennedy Center. In December, Congresswoman Beatty was barred from speaking at a Board meeting where trustees purported to rename the Kennedy Center after Donald Trump.

The Court also ordered the government to provide Rep. Beatty documents regarding the shutdown of the Kennedy Center, including information about the "one year review" that Trump claimed he conducted. If the documents do not exist, the government must state so in writing.

"The Kennedy Center is a national institution created by Congress and held in trust for the American people. As a member of the Kennedy Center Board, Congresswoman Beatty is entitled to have a say in the President's unlawful efforts to close and potentially demolish it," said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.), executive chair of Democracy Defenders Action, and Nathaniel Zelinsky, Senior Counsel at the Washington Litigation Group. "The court rightly recognized this and sent a clear message that the Kennedy Center is not Donald Trump's renovation project any more than it is his political trophy or personal property. He cannot simply make unilateral decisions about it and have those decisions rubber-stamped by his hand-picked board."

The ruling can be found here: https://f9c23fd5-1644-4a5f-a561-d04e6b5736d6.usrfiles.com/ugd/f9c23f_e6efb0daa2ea4d49891fde9e5d5ea2af.pdf

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Democracy Defenders Action(link is external) brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.

The Washington Litigation Group(link is external) is a nonpartisan team of attorneys dedicated to defending individuals and institutions that have been unlawfully targeted for exercising their legal rights and to fighting against governmental overreach.