The Justice Department and lawyers for a Democratic congresswoman suing the Kennedy Center tangled in federal court on Tuesday over whether the Trump administration can legally withhold communications related to the president’s management of the arts institution. Trump took over as chairman of the Kennedy Center at the start of his second term, making it a centerpiece of his efforts to rid Washington’s cultural institutions of what he has described as liberal leanings. He announced in February that the center would close for two years of renovations, and he has pushed for his name to occupy a prominent place on the building, which is a memorial to President Kennedy.
Lawyers for Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who is an ex officio board member at the center, have sought dozens of text messages and emails involving close aides of Mr. They have described the exchanges as critical evidence in their lawsuit seeking to halt the two-year closure of the center for a $257 million renovation project. In recent weeks, the legal battle has diverged into a fight over whether Mr.
Trump should be granted executive privilege in his Kennedy Center dealings to protect his ability to speak candidly and confidentially with aides. The Justice Department has blocked access to communications involving aides such as Natalie Harp, a chief gatekeeper to the president, as well as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is helping Mr. Trump oversee the center.
The exchanges are described in court papers as intended to reflect private deliberations by the president and his staff. In the hearing at Federal District Court in Washington on Tuesday, Nathaniel Zelinsky, a lawyer for Ms. Beatty, argued that executive privilege did not extend to Mr.
Trump’s role as chairman of the center’s board. William Jankowski, a lawyer for the Justice Department, said the president had an official role at the Kennedy Center that was assigned by Congress and involved appointing members of the board. That provision put the arts venue in the scope of Mr.
Trump’s executive duties, he argued. Cooper, who is overseeing the case, signaled that he may ultimately decide that some communications are protected while others are not. The key question, he said, is which “hat” Mr.
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