Trump DOJ Openly Defies Kennedy Center Order

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1:42Michael Popok:Now, it's not OK that there seems to be a semi-permanent tarp structure covering what once was Donald Trump's name and certainly John F. Kennedy's name on the Kennedy Center in open defiance of federal Judge Cooper's order. It's now been brought to Judge Cooper's attention in a new joint filing. I mean, you see these joint status reports that are required to be filed by the judges. Sometimes they are elaborate and they make tremendous arguments against the Trump administration. Of course, we caught it here with the new filing that was just made by the Kennedy Center and the plaintiffs in the case against the Kennedy Center, Congresswoman Joyce Beattie.

2:26Michael Popok:And in it, it says, as it relates to the name, that they are in open defiance of the court's order because they refuse to acknowledge the name change and they've left a semi-permanent structure. But it goes on to say not only does this TARP now have entrances and exits as if it's never being brought down, but they also accuse the Trump administration, get this, stop me if you've heard this one before, that the Trump administration and the Kennedy Center, by extension, is lying to a federal judge about the TARP that they said they needed. I don't know if you recall this, but they said they needed an additional 24 hours or so in order to get the name down and ask the judge for an extension of time because they said there were thunderstorms in the area.

3:11Michael Popok:But now based on this new filing, the government, the Congresswoman Beattie's lawyers are telling Judge Cooper, you might have been had, judge. That additional time was not apparently to put up the tarp. It was to make it a semi-permanent structure and to get their ducks in a row to do it. That's one. Second thing that comes up in the new filing is about the programming. It looks like in open defiance of the court's order, they have no plans, the foundation, if you will, or the board of governors, they have no plans, these board of trustees, to do programming at all for the Kennedy Center, despite the court ordering them to do it.

3:55Michael Popok:And then finally, another major argument is that this creation of a phony Trump-Kennedy Center Foundation, which nobody ever heard of, where they plastered Trump's name on this foundation for fundraising collections, and now have created, it's like in soccer, an own goal, self-sabotage. the board of trustees have now said out loud that they're going to return the money. They're going to return the money from donors, even though donors haven't asked for it, if Trump's name's taken off. And there's a very good question that Congresswoman Beattie's lawyers ask. Why is Trump's name on anything related to the Kennedy Center?

4:38Michael Popok:That's a violation of the court's order. Get ready, everybody. I'm going to cover it right here on Legal AF. I'm still traveling. Another day left, and then you'll see me in the home studio. But I'm glad you're here to kick off our Monday. Let's talk about the new filing. I'll read to you from it. As you know how we got here, Trump takes over the Kennedy Center, fires all the board of trustees except for somebody like Congresswoman Beattie, and installs and packs it with all the bootlickers or the wives of the bootlickers, like J.D. Vance's wife and Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary's wife, and packs them all on.

5:15They immediately start blocking Representative Beattie from participating in any decision making.

5:21Michael Popok:They vote after Donald Trump's embarrassed by the fact that nobody wants to perform at the Kennedy Center. Nobody. I mean, everybody quit, except unless you count Lee Greenwood. Everybody quit. That's in sharp contrast to what's going on at the Obama Center opening, where everybody wants to perform. Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, nobody wants to be at the Kennedy Center. And Trump was getting embarrassed. and got a black eye over it. And so he basically ordered his trustees to shut down the Kennedy Center, even though it is the living memorial embodiment of the spirit of JFK, the only one in DC. And under statute, an organic statute that was signed by Lyndon Johnson requires that that serve the community and the public with programming.

6:08Michael Popok:But because they couldn't get any programming with Trump's name on it, All of a sudden, they voted to shut it down. And that vote, the judge decided in his 96-page opinion, Judge Cooper, about a month ago, was invalid because they had violated as trustees their duty of prudence, having not developed an appropriate record to show that they couldn't do programming and repair at the exact same time. He also ruled permanent injunction, case over, take the name off of everything. Now, they did on the website and on stationery and the rest, but they had this game, right? The shell game going on with Trump's name being taken off the top because Trump didn't want to be embarrassed.

6:54Michael Popok:So they asked for an extension of time and, according to the filing, put up the semi-permanent tarp. First, they claimed that it was necessary because they're doing some external work on the soffits and other locations on the exterior of the building. except the tarp is 20 feet below the soffit. So that can't be it. Let me read to you from the filing, which we'll put up on Substack for our paid members as well. So you can get a look at it for yourself. They say this. First, on June 12th, 2026, before taking down President Trump's name from the Kennedy Center's facade, the defendants constructed scaffolding and hung a tarp to shield the work from public view.

7:40Michael Popok:Today, the tarp inexplicably remains. Indeed, it appears that the tarp will be there for the long term. Defendants have fashioned two doorways in the structure to permit pedestrian access underneath the structure, and the entire assemblage appears to be semi-permanent. As a result, today, this tarp largely obscures John F. Kennedy's name on the front portico. That means, in translation, it violates the court's injunction, permanent injunction. This latest development, the filing continues, is a transparent effort to frustrate a return to the status quo that existed prior to the board's unlawful vote to rename the Kennedy Center on December 18, 2025.

8:23Michael Popok:Despite not responding to plaintiff, Defendants apparently told a reporter that the scaffolding and terp will remain up as crews address matters concerning marble and soffit panels. This is plainly pretextual. The scaffolding appears to be approximately 20 feet below the soffits, and nowhere have they provided any information about the purported maintenance needs. But it continues. They say that effectively the Kennedy Center has lied to the court. This is on page 10. When defendants requested an extension from the court on the evening of June 12 to comply with the preliminary injunction, they did so based on the representation that thunderstorms presented safety concerns to workers.

9:10Michael Popok:It now appears that the purpose for the extension may have been, at least in significant part, to gain additional time to construct the tarp assembly to shield the work from public scrutiny. In other words, they never told the court or the public they were going to be putting up a tarp. Indeed, when defendants finally got around to removing the letters in the early hours of June 13th, the letters came off by hand. They didn't even use the machine. As a result, it seems at least plausible that had defendants not been focused on constructing their bizarre and unnecessary privacy screen, the letters could have been removed before the court ordered deadline.

9:48Michael Popok:They didn't use machinery to take it down. Then they say there's something even more troubling, is that they slapped the Trump name on a new foundation, which also is in violation of the court's order. Without the name, this is what they told the public, the trustees for Trump, without the name Trump on the building, our fundraising will not only come to a halt, but any monies raised or committed would be obligated to be returned, refunded, or terminated. The bylaws, so this is what they created, self-created. The bylaws of the Trump-Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Foundation state that the corporation may make donations to the center, provided, however, that in doing so, the board of directors shall condition such donations to the center upon the name of the center remaining unchanged.

10:38Michael Popok:So this latest assertion is deeply concerning, they say on page 11. To be clear, defendants never raised the existence of a so-called foundation before. where they're not even sure bylaws exist for it. Moreover, defendants are threatening to sabotage the Kennedy Center by invoking a poison pill, apparently of their own making, that would directly rob the center of funding if they're not permitted to continue to violate the law. To state the obvious, this scorched earth tactic, holding the trust itself hostage in a bid to violate the trust terms, is a clear breach of fiduciary duty. So what happens next?

11:17Michael Popok:This is starting as a joint report to the judge. But there's going to be, in the next day or so, a filing by Representative Joyce Beattie to the judge for contempt. There's no doubt in my mind that the next step is to file a motion for contempt and to order the continued compliance and fact-finding around it by Judge Cooper. They're not just idly threatening or giving the judge sort of an update like, this is sort of interesting, judge. They lied to you about the TARP and about the name, and now they're continuing to violate your order. No, that's a prerequisite or a precursor to the filing for a motion for contempt.

12:03So we'll continue to follow it all right here

12:07Michael Popok:on Legal AF the way we best know how. Without blowing smoke or sunshine, you're on Legal AF YouTube channel. Take a minute, hit the free subscribe button. Come over to Legal AF Substack where you can read the new filing for yourself if you're a paid member. Another way to support what we do. And also besides becoming a member here on Legal AF Substack and Legal AF YouTube, you can also help what I do. If you like the Popak commentary and contribution, then go over to where you get audio podcasts from and download the Intersection podcast, my podcast on Tuesday night, which is part of that brand of mine.

12:47Michael Popok:And because we could use more audio downloads. So until my next report, which will be later today, I'm Michael Popok, still traveling, but covering the news and commentary in an honest fashion, the way you've come to expect it. Until my next report, this is Michael. Can't get your fill of Legal AF? Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether 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.

13:22Michael Popok: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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