Trump Name Removed from Kennedy Center

0:00Tear down that tarp, Mr. Trump. That's not what Judge Cooper has said yet, but he's about to. He's laid a delicate trap for Donald Trump, and we know Trump and his Department of Justice and his controlled Trump trustees for the Kennedy Center. They're going to step into it, and he's going to allow them to do that, particularly about the TARP, about the programming, about lies that may have been told to the court. I'm going to cover the new order coming out of Judge Cooper's chambers, how it relates to his 96-page order a couple of weeks ago. And the joint status report filed by Representative Joyce Beattie, who has sued the Kennedy Center as a board member in order for them to do their fiduciary duties.

0:43I'm Michael Popak. You're on the Midas Touch Network and Legal AF. Let's get to it. I spotted this filing on the 19th of June, and I said at the time that this is going to be the beginning of the end for the Trump board and their attempts to control the Kennedy Center out of existence. that they're going to have to take down that tarp and that they're going to have to explain why they're continuing to violate the judge's order. They're going to have to continue with the programming and the like. Brought to the attention by Judge Beatty's lawyers. Here's what they said on page eight about the renaming.

1:17It says, plaintiffs brings the court's attention to pertinent developments, that the plaintiff requested the defendants provide information as the developments in the status report, and it was refused. And they want to know particularly why there is a tarp. On June 12, 2026, page nine, before taking down President Trump's name from the Kennedy Center facade, defendants constructed scaffolding and hung a tarp to shield the work from public view. Today, the tarp inexplicably remains. It's even more inexplicable since we know what happened behind the tarp. Here's some photos from the Washington Post showing you what the wall looks like without Donald Trump's name on it.

1:57In any event, according to the filing by Representative Beattie, it appears that the tarp will be there for the long term. There's actually two doorways in the structure that permit pedestrian access underneath the structure, and the entire assemblage appears to be semi-permanent. As a result, this tarp largely obscures John F. Kennedy's name on the front portico. And what do you do when you've got two large black doors on a tarp? Well, you project the Epstein-Trump documentary about Trump's involvement with a child sex predator and international child sex trafficking ring, as you can see here.

2:41Now, they continue in their filing that the defendants are effectively lying to the public. They're saying that the tarp was necessary because the scaffolding and tarp will remain in place so crews can address maintenance needs of the marble and the soffit panels, except the soffit panels are 20 feet above the tarp. But they make more serious accusations of the Trump administration lying to federal judges. On the top of page 10, they say, but there is additional context that heightens plaintiffs' concerns. When defendants requested an extension from the court on the evening of June 12th to comply with the preliminary injunction.

3:20They did so based on their representation that thunderstorms presented safety concerns to workers. It now appears that the purpose of the extension may have been to gain additional time to construct the tarp to shield the work from public scrutiny. Indeed, when defendants finally got around to removing the letters on June 13th, the letters came off by hand. So it seems as least plausible While the defendants had not been focused on constructing their bizarre and unnecessary privacy screen, the letters could have been removed before the court order deadline. In other words, they didn't need a cherry picker or a machine to take down the sign.

4:00In their stay motion, defendants stated the following. Without the name Trump on the building, our fundraising will come to a halt. And according to the bylaws of a new Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, using the Trump name again, the corporation may make donations. However, in doing so, the board of directors shall condition such donations upon the name remaining unchanged. So they're going to create a poison pill. They created a foundation to raise money for the Kennedy Center, but they're going to choke off the funds, also controlled by Donald Trump's people, unless the Trump name stays on.

4:46That's a breach of fiduciary duty all over again by both the board and this foundation. And why does the foundation get to put Trump's name on the foundation? That's a violation of the judge's order as well. summer is here and one of the best upgrades i've made at home recently is installing a tushy bidet it took about 10 minutes to set up attaches right to your existing toilet and honestly just makes you feel cleaner and more comfortable than using toilet paper alone i also like that it modernizes the bathroom a bit warm water adjustable settings and way less wasted toilet paper. It's one of those products that feels luxurious, but is actually practical too.

5:28Stop guessing you're clean, start feeling it. For a limited time, our listeners get 10 % off their first bidet order when you use code LEGALAF at checkout. That's 10 % off your first bidet order at hellotushy.com with promo code LEGALAF. One more time, our listeners get 10 % off their first bidet order when you use code LEGALAF at checkout. That's 10 % off your first bidet order. at, wait for it, hellotushy.com with promo code LEGALAF. They say on page 11, defendants never raised the existence of a foundation at any point in the litigation. These asserted bylaws may not even exist. But to the extent that this is not puffery, the continued maintenance of a legal entity named the Trump-Kennedy Center violates the court's injunction.

6:17Moreover, 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 are not permitted to continue to violate the law. This is a breach of fiduciary duty. Now the judge has come back with his order based on his read of those papers, and here's what Judge Cooper has to say. In light of the party's status report, which I just read to you, the court orders the following, that the Trump side's request to extend the deadline to file a response is denied. They shall answer by June 29. The court will promptly set an initial scheduling conference when he gets the answer.

7:04As to the plaintiff's motion for miscellaneous relief, where they're seeking relief already about what's going on with the TARP, the foundation, the funding, and all of that, Defendants have represented by sworn declaration that they have halted steps to effectuate the decision to wind down programming and fully close the facility and have committed to maintaining operational mode past July 5. If these representations do not bear out, then the plaintiff may renew her motion for an order requiring proof of compliance at that time. Finally, the parties are hereby ordered to file a joint status report seven days from the mid-July trustee meeting.

7:46The joint status report shall apprise the court of any pertinent factual developments as the plans for future construction and operations at the Kennedy Center. The report shall also indicate the purpose and status of the tarp and scaffolding to the extent they remain at that time. In other words, you want to probably get the TARP down before you fill out your next joint status report. That is just such a proper way for a federal judge who wants to build a record to protect himself on appeal to operate. It's exactly what you would expect. It's not like bombastic and how dare you. And if you don't get it off in a day, you guys get together.

8:27You guys file another report. Tell me in that report what the status of the TARP is, if it's still up, and why it's still up. And we'll address all of these other issues. Now, it doesn't mean that Representative Beattie's side can't file another emergency motion or application. They can. But this is the orderly way the judge is going to build a record about the Kennedy Center. So we're going to continue to follow it. You're going to want to be on Legal AF, on Legal AF Substack for live reports. And in the meantime, I'm Michael Popak. Come over to Legal AF on YouTube. Hit the free subscribe button.

9:05Always a great idea to help us to continue to grow our audience. I mean, we're looking at the reflecting pool and I'll be doing reporting about a new filing that has been demanded by a federal judge appointed by Donald Trump for Trump to answer about what more he's doing to desecrate and ruin the reflecting pool. We're still following the ballroom as it sits with an appellate panel. And now we're, of course, we're following closely this case about the Kennedy Center. As Donald Trump tries to remake the face of Washington in his own image, federal judges are fighting back and we're here for it.

9:39Until my next report, I'm Michael Popak.

9:54you