Kennedy Center Executive Privilege Invoked by Trump

The kennedy center executive privilege dispute intensified on Wednesday as President Donald Trump formally asserted the privilege to shield a set of records from Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) in her ongoing lawsuit over his handling of the performing arts venue.

White House Deputy Counsel Joshua Hoyt made the claim in a declaration filed Wednesday with a federal judge. The assertion covers information, documents, and communications involving Trump, his advisers, and Kennedy Center staff concerning the president’s responsibilities and what Hoyt called “the effective functioning” of the institution.

What the Claim Covers

According to the declaration, the privilege covers the board’s fundraising efforts, communications with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that relayed presidential decision-making, and discussions with advisers outside the government — even talks that did not include the president. It would also block answers to certain questions in depositions of Kennedy Center Executive Director Matthew Floca and another witness.

Hoyt argued that without the protection, advisers would be chilled from gathering information and giving fully informed recommendations on the president’s duties, since Trump appoints the center’s trustees and members of its Advisory Committee on the Arts.

Clash Over the Venue’s Closure

In a separate filing, Justice Department lawyers accused Beatty of pursuing a “fishing expedition” that raises separation-of-powers issues, arguing the privilege must hold for documents concerning the president’s official actions.

Beatty’s team has countered that the claim is improper because Trump acts as chairman of a nonprofit board in this context, and that shielding the communications would block discovery into how the temporary closure decision — announced February 1 — was actually made.

Source: CBS News