Kennedy Center Fight Draws Demand for Nearly 200 Texts

The fight over the Kennedy Center moved into private communications on October 25, when lawyers for Rep. Joyce Beatty asked a federal judge to order the Trump administration to release withheld messages related to the arts institution. The records include 19 texts between its chief executive and a White House aide and about 180 involving Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to the court filing described by the Associated Press.

The texts are sought in litigation over the center’s management, the addition of Trump’s name to the building and its planned closure. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper had not ruled on the request as of the reporting.

A board vote and a series of messages

Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex officio Kennedy Center board member, is challenging decisions made as the institution came under the president’s influence. Her attorneys say the withheld communications could explain how the administration participated in a series of management and closure decisions.

The filing identifies 19 texts between Kennedy Center executive director and CEO Matt Floca and Trump aide Natalie Harp. Eleven were exchanged on September 15, the day the center’s board voted for a third time to close the institution, the lawyers said.

Another group of approximately 180 texts involved Floca and Lutnick. Beatty’s legal team described the commerce secretary as an intermediary for the president. That characterization belongs to the plaintiffs; the substance of the messages has not been publicly tested in the litigation described by AP.

The government has withheld communications under claims of presidential privilege. Beatty’s lawyers argue that the privilege should not prevent disclosure in a case where the communications bear directly on the challenged actions. The court now has to decide whether that legal protection applies.

The building itself is already in court

This is only the latest chapter in the dispute. In May, Cooper ruled that Trump’s name had been added illegally to the Kennedy Center building and ordered it removed. Trump had become chairman after allies on the board elevated him to the position. He later publicly described the building as being in such poor condition that it might need to be torn down.

After another board vote, Floca announced a temporary closure of the main facility on September 16. The following day Cooper ordered that the center provide 30 days’ notice before any major physical alterations.

Beatty’s lawyers say the messages may show who was involved as the board considered closing the center and making changes to the building.

What the judge must decide

The request places the scope of presidential confidentiality against a lawmaker’s attempt to obtain evidence for her institutional challenge. The White House did not immediately comment on the filing, AP reported.

Cooper will decide whether the administration must produce the communications as Beatty’s broader challenge continues.

References: Judge asked to compel Trump administration to disclose Kennedy Center records