President Donald Trump has invoked executive privilege to keep certain records about the Kennedy Center from being shared with Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio. The move comes as Beatty challenges Trump’s plans to close the performing arts venue for two years for renovations.
The records concern the president’s role in the institution and its management. The dispute raises questions about whether Trump can use executive privilege to protect communications linked to his separate role as chairman of the Kennedy Center’s board.
Executive privilege is the president’s ability to keep certain government communications confidential, particularly discussions with advisers about official decisions. It is meant to allow the president and those working with him to discuss options and give advice without fearing that every conversation will become public. Beatty’s lawyers, however, say the government is using privilege too broadly to prevent her from obtaining records about Trump’s involvement in decisions affecting the Kennedy Center. The dispute also covers the center’s financial condition, plans to change its name and discussions about whether the building could be demolished.
The center, established by Congress in 1958, receives federal funding as well as money from ticket sales and private donations. Because the president appoints members of its board and the Advisory Committee on the Arts, hoyt argued that Trump needs access to information about the Kennedy Center.
This, he said, requires Trump to understand the institution’s management, operations, fundraising and planned activities. “I believe that, without the protection of the presidential communications privilege over the communications described above, presidential advisors and their staff members would be chilled from gathering relevant information, exploring alternatives, and providing fully informed recommendations regarding the performance of the President’s duties,” Hoyt wrote in his declaration. Trump previously said the venue could be “ripped down” if he and his administration did not receive recognition for their work on repairs and fundraising.
Trump became the board’s chairman last year, making him the first sitting president to hold the position.
