Joyce Beatty

Ohio Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty told a federal judge that she objected to the Justice Department citing executive privilege to withhold President Trump's records related to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Beatty, who has sued the Kennedy Center in her capacity as an ex officio board member, requested documents related to Trump's communications about the institution, The New York Times reported.

The congresswoman filed the lawsuit to block Trump from closing the Kennedy Center for a two-year, $250 million renovation project and prevent his name from being restored to the exterior after a federal judge ordered its removal in June.

U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper for the District of Columbia, an Obama appointee, is considering whether to allow the center's closure to proceed. Cooper has granted discovery to aid his decision, enabling Beatty’s lawyers to request certain documents and question the center’s officials.

On Monday, Beatty’s attorneys objected to the DOJ attempting to use executive privilege to withhold some evidence. The lawyers argued that Trump’s work at the Kennedy Center as the board's chairman is completely separate from his role as president.

“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,” wrote Beatty’s attorneys, Nathaniel Zelinsky and Norm Eisen. They argued that allowing Trump to use executive privilege in this case would “obstruct the search for the truth.”

The DOJ wrote in a court filing that requesting communications involving Trump or White House personnel was “inappropriate,” citing case law that says providing certain evidence “creates an undue burden and distraction from those individuals’ critical executive responsibilities.”

Citing executive privilege in this case is novel because no other sitting president has also served as the center's chairman. Also, the institution is a private nonprofit, but federal funds maintain the building.

Richard Painter, a law professor who was the chief ethics lawyer for former President George W. Bush, told the Times, “The Kennedy Center is not part of the executive branch; it’s funded by Congress as an independent entity. We don’t even get out of the starting gate.”

Cooper approved the collection of evidence that focuses mainly on the center's board to close the institution for two years.

Meanwhile, the center’s executive director, Matt Floca, has temporarily shuttered the center's main building, citing urgent safety risks stemming from crumbling infrastructure.

Beatty’s lawsuit argues that the maintenance needs are being used as a pretext for a closure that is designed to mask a drop in finances and audience demand since Trump’s takeover.

In court filings, Beatty’s attorneys wrote that the DOJ informed them that when Floca is deposed, lawyers would object to any questions regarding his interactions with Trump.

Last month, Trump raised the prospect that the center might need to be demolished. He was photographed through the windows of Air Force One, where he was reviewing a poster that appears to read, “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED,” after which Cooper granted additional evidence gathering related to the images.

Beatty’s lawyers argued that it is critical to be able to “probe the instructions and inputs management may have received from Mr. Trump.”

The DOJ did not respond to the Times' request for comment.