Trump Caught with Zero Evidence by All Three Judges

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5:29Michael Popok:We got some breaking news and it's against Donald Trump's efforts to get his name back on the Kennedy Center in a three zero decision. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, including one Trump appointed judge, have ruled against him, finding that he has not made out irreparable harm. He's not properly supported his motion for stay with any facts or any evidence that he or the Trump name or the fundraising for the Kennedy Center will be harmed by his name coming down. The federal panel already noted that the name is down, that the millions of dollars already collected mean that they're not suffering any harm because of his name down.

6:11Michael Popok:and any kind of self-inflicted harm by having to return any donations was not raised with the district court level below with Judge Cooper being raised for the first time on appeal and therefore is improper basis to file a motion for stay. A denial, 3-0. Let's break it down here. Unlegal AF on Michael Popok and on the Midas Touch Network. Three judges, Judge Millett, Judge Wilkins, and Judge Katzis. Judge Millett and Judge Wilkins appointed by Barack Obama. They came on the court together. Katzis appointed by Trump in his first term, but no dissent from Katzis here. So this is the decision of the three judges.

6:55Michael Popok:It says, order the motion to stay, meaning to stop and block Judge Cooper's decision, which had several parts and preliminary injunction and permanent injunction. They're refusing to stay on appeal while the appeal continues. Judge Cooper ordered that the name come down, permanent injunction, no more court proceedings needed because it violated the organic statute which set up the Kennedy Center as a living memorial to JFK. He also said that they can't close the Kennedy Center until the board does their proper prudent fiduciary duty to determine whether on a proper record, whether the center can stay open during reconstruction and remodeling.

7:42Michael Popok:And third, he placed Joyce Beattie, Representative Beattie, back on as an ex officio member and a voting member of the board. This motion for stay dealt with the name, but as the three-judge panel noted, the name already came down. Let me read to you from the order, which we'll also post in Legal AF Substack. It says, on May 29th, 2026, the district court, that's Judge Cooper, ordered, among other things, the removal of President Trump's name from the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The deletion of his name as part of the title on the official website. The withdrawal of any trademark applications that included Trump's name as part of the Kennedy Center.

8:26Michael Popok:Then they say that they denied the administrative stay, which they did at least two to one. We now deny appellants motion for a stay pending appeal because they have failed to show how they will be irreparably injured absent a stay. In order to get a stay from an appellate panel or any panel, you have to show irreparable harm, inadequate remedy at law, that you are likely to prevail on the merits, and that the public interest tips in your favor. All four factors. Here they're focused on the factor of irreparable injury. First they say, the name's already come down. So how are you going to be further harmed by the name continuing to be down?

9:08Michael Popok:They say on page two, first, they argue that the removal of President Trump's name will inflict irreparable harm in terms of expense and time squandered. But since that removal has already occurred, a stay would not avert those harms, even assuming they would qualify as irreparable. Second, appellants allege financial harm to the Kennedy Center if they are not permitted to reinstate Trump's name. They argue that removal of the name threatens to impede the center's fundraising efforts. It will contribute to the financial decline of the center. However, they failed to support this assertion with any facts or evidence.

9:46Michael Popok:Hey, there's an idea. You're in a court. How about using facts or evidence and not mean tweets or social media postings? And the only thing they offered was a conclusory, we call it a naked assertion, by the executive director of the Kennedy Center under Donald Trump's thumb that was completely factually unsupported in any way. Sure, he swore under oath, but he didn't provide any facts that demonstrate that fundraising will take a downturn because the name is off the building. In fact, the declaration they found is internally inconsistent because it suggested that the center has already amassed millions in contributions, yet it would be in financial ruin if the name were excised from the title.

10:32Michael Popok:As a result, they have failed to come forward with any factual record and they're about irreparable harm to entitle them to this emergency relief. And then they go after the poison pill. You know that airport moment when you're balancing coffee in one hand, your phone's dying in the other, and TSA suddenly needs your laptop. That's why I've been obsessed with Noble. I've been using the Belmont leather carry-on and it's one of those bags that actually makes travel easier. It has a flip-out cup holder, a built-in charging port, and a front laptop pocket so you're not digging through your bag while everyone waits behind you.

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11:54Michael Popok:After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them our show sent you. See, after they lost the name in court, they bored in breach of their fiduciary duties, which I'm sure Judge Cooper, the district court judge, will not be happy about when the case comes back to him on that point, they decided to enter a poison pill. First they declared that there is some sort of foundation independent from the Kennedy Center that they set up with his name and that when they took in donations, they made a commitment to the donors that if the name comes off, they'll give the donation back.

12:34Michael Popok:Who told them to do that? And that they're not going to send the money over to the center. See, Trump's always setting up these phony foundations to sit between the real party and interest that needs the money and divert money away from the congressionally funded project. He just did it with the 4th of July, right? The America 250 fund was created by Congress in a bipartisan way to run the 4th of July and celebrations about 250. He set up a Freedom 250 and then started diverting money to it, including giving phony wire instructions. This is what the House Democrats have said. Phony wire instructions to send the money away from the actual event and the congressionally oversighted event.

13:21Michael Popok:Same thing here. Who told him to set up a phony foundation? They go on. Remember, there's all three judges, including Katzis. Appellants argue that a new entity named the Trump-Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Foundation will no longer be able to fundraise and must return all money raised or committed if the Trump name is not on the facade. But appellants never raise that factual contention in the court below, in the district court, and they give no explanation for failing to do so. Such a post hoc, meaning after the trial below, argument cannot demonstrate an abuse of discretion by a district court because he never raised it with the district court.

13:59Michael Popok:What does this mean? It means that there's no stay pending appeal. Everything that Judge Cooper ruled on, everything, will continue in place all the way through until the end of this appeal on the merits. Right? Maybe this same three-judge panel, may not be. It depends on how the wheel spins. But for right now, this doesn't bode well for Donald Trump when he can't even get the Trump appointed, Judge Katzis, who almost always votes for him, to vote for him about the Kennedy Center. If Katzis was trying out for the United States Supreme Court, which we think he is, along with Judge Naomi Rao on that court, another Trumper, that wasn't such a great tryout.

14:42Michael Popok:I'm not sure he's going to get the nod based on this ruling. We'll continue to follow it all right here on the Midas Touch Network and on Legal AF. What's going to happen next? Trump files his proper appeal of Judge Cooper. Judge Cooper still has work to do below, right? He's not happy with the fact that there even is a foundation with the name of Trump next to Kennedy, and he's going to be considering that based on filings made by the lawyers for Representative Beattie, the board member who brought the lawsuit. He's got to do that. He's got to supervise the fact that the Kennedy Center seems to be open, but with no programming.

15:21Michael Popok:Again, a violation of the organic statute about the operation of the Kennedy Center. So there's a lot of work to be done below at the district court level with Judge Cooper. And here you've got one aspect of the case up on appeal with the appellate panel. Not uncommon, because what's going on here is an interlocutory appeal during the pendency of the case below, as opposed to an appeal once the case is complete and final, which is why we're talking at the same time simultaneously about appeals and about lower court actions and work. Now, we know Donald Trump's not happy about this. He immediately attacked Judge Cooper originally when he ruled against him.

16:05Michael Popok:He said, oh, my name comes off. I'm going to throw the keys to Congress. They can run it. I don't need it any longer. and try to take the ball, you know, try to take the practice ball in his hands and go home with it. But this is not going to work with Judge Cooper. And as you can see, it's not even working with a Trump judge who's on his appellate panel. I'll cover it all for you the way I know how on Legal AF YouTube channel. Take a minute, hit the free subscribe button. Until my next report, this is Michael.

16:40Michael Popok:It's a court filing or a oral argument. Come over to the Substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do call, wait for it, Morning AF. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well. We got some new reporting. We got interviews. We got ad-free versions of the podcast and hot takes. Where? Legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe.

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