The Trump administration has invoked executive privilege to withhold documents related to the former president’s communications about the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, intensifying a legal dispute over access to records in an ongoing lawsuit.
The case centers on a suit brought by Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, who is challenging the center’s planned two-year closure for a $250 million renovation. The lawsuit also seeks to prevent the restoration of Trump’s name on the building’s exterior after a June court order mandated its removal.
U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper of Washington, D.C., overseeing the case, authorized discovery to allow Beatty’s legal team to request documents and depose center officials as part of his review of whether the closure should proceed. However, in a court filing last Monday, Beatty’s lawyers objected to the Justice Department’s attempt to invoke executive privilege to limit the evidence the center must disclose.
Beatty’s attorneys, Nathaniel Zelinsky and Norm Eisen, argued that Trump’s role as chairman of the Kennedy Center—a nonprofit organization—is distinct from his presidential duties and that shielding communications on that basis would obstruct fact-finding. They said, “Donald Trump is the chair of a nonprofit corporation’s board, and his decisions and directions lie at the heart of that board’s actions which, in turn, are the subject matter of this case.”
The Justice Department countered that requests for communications involving the president or White House staff were “inappropriate,” citing legal precedents that protect certain presidential communications to avoid undue burden and interference with executive responsibilities. The department did not respond to requests for further comment, and a Kennedy Center spokesperson deferred to the Justice Department.
Legal experts note the case raises unprecedented questions, as no other president has simultaneously served as the chairman of the performing arts center. Some constitutional scholars expressed skepticism about applying executive privilege in this context, given the Kennedy Center’s status as an independent, federally funded nonprofit entity rather than part of the executive branch.
“The Kennedy Center is not part of the executive branch; it’s funded by Congress as an independent entity,” said Richard Painter, a law professor and former ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush. Northwestern University law professor Heidi Kitrosser added that executive privilege “doesn’t follow the president in other capacities, wherever he goes.”
The dispute threatens to delay resolution of the litigation, which hinges on the board’s decision—closely linked to Trump—to close the center for renovations amidst growing financial concerns and declining audience attendance following his leadership. Center executive director Matt Floca has temporarily closed the main venue, citing urgent safety risks related to structural deterioration.
Trump, who announced the renovation plan in February and has maintained frequent contact with Floca, has recently suggested that demolition of the building might be necessary. After photographs surfaced showing Trump reviewing a poster labeled “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED” aboard Air Force One, Judge Cooper allowed expanded discovery related to those images.
The lawsuit contends that maintenance issues are being used as a pretext for closure amid financial difficulties. The Justice Department reportedly plans to object to questions about Floca’s interactions with Trump during depositions.
In past cases, courts have balanced the president’s interest in protecting sensitive communications against the need for evidence. In the 1974 Supreme Court ruling on President Richard Nixon’s executive privilege claim during the Watergate scandal, the court ruled against presidential confidentiality in favor of evidence disclosure deemed critical to judicial proceedings. How Judge Cooper will weigh these considerations remains a pivotal question as the case advances.