Representatives of President Donald Trump have "formally invoked" presidential communications privilege in the ongoing legal battle over the administration's desired renovations to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
As reported by USA TODAY in September, the Trump administration is part of an ongoing legal battle regarding the Kennedy Center. In late September, the administration appealed a federal court order that blocked plans tied to renovations at the center.
Trump argues that the building would fall into disrepair and could eventually be demolished unless he oversees said renovations; Congress has approved $257 million for the project. In exchange for the fundraising and construction expertise, Trump demanded that his contribution
be memorialized on the building and grounds, including by adding his name to the front of the building.
Here's the latest.
What's happening to the Kennedy Center?
As reported by USA TODAY, the Trump administration previously appealed a federal court order that blocked plans tied to renovations at Kennedy Center and prevented Trump's name from being associated with the facility.
The case's plaintiff, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, is an ex officio board member of the center. Beatty has been challenging Trump's efforts to add his name to the building's façade and to shutter the center for two years while it's renovated.
What is 'presidential communications privilege'?
The New York University Journal of Law and Liberty explains that presidential communications privilege is the "core" of executive privilege. It protects presidential communications and communications authored or solicited and received by the President or his close advisors "in furtherance of presidential decisionmaking."
However, there is no "full treatment of this topic in scholarship," and the journal notes that there are open questions concerning the scope of the privilege, how it applies to former presidents, who qualifies as a "close advisor," what counts as solicitation and more.
Why did Trump invoke 'presidential communications privilege'?
As reported by NBC, a White House lawyer said Trump had officially invoked executive privilege in the ongoing legal battle involving his management of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Joshua Hoyt, a deputy assistant and deputy counsel to Trump, said that he was "formally invoking the presidential communications privilege with respect to information, documents, and communications requested" by the case's plaintiff at the direction of the President.
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Trump invokes 'presidential communications privilege'. What is it?
