A federal judge has ordered the Trump-Kennedy Center to provide any documents it has on plans to close and rebuild the performing arts establishment to a member of Congress who is on the center’s board.
But U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper rejected Rep. Joyce Beatty’s request that he order the Kennedy Center to give her a chance to vote on the closure plans at a board meeting Monday.
Judge Cooper, an Obama appointee, said the center maintains a unique space in Washington’s cultural and political life. He said the case presented novel issues that have never been tested, such as Ms. Beatty’s claims to voting rights as an ex officio member.
He said the center has been depriving Ms. Beatty of documents about the looming closure, which President Trump said will occur on July 4, in preparation for a major rebuild.
“The trouble here is that the defendants have flatly refused to provide any information within a timespan that any reasonable trustee — including general trustees — would deem necessary to assess a proposal of such magnitude,” Judge Cooper wrote. “In other words, these are exceptional circumstances, both in the potential immensity of the announced work on the Kennedy Center and the manner in which most of its trustees have been sidelined from one of the more consequential decisions in the institution’s lifespan.”
He ordered the board to also give Ms. Beatty a chance to speak, if she wishes, at Monday’s meeting.
But he said her right to vote is more cloudy, and he wouldn’t order the center to change its rules, adopted last spring, that removed voting rights from ex officio members.
The board last year renamed the institution the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Ms. Beatty, Ohio Democrat, originally sued to stop that. Judge Cooper has yet to rule on that issue, but Ms. Beatty rushed back to court to demand a chance to object to the demolition plans at Monday’s meeting.
Ms. Beatty has also asked the court for an order blocking any demolition of the building.
Judge Cooper said that issue will be dealt with later.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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