Judge asked to compel Trump administration to disclose emails and texts about Kennedy Center plans

Rep. Joyce Beatty’s attorneys are asking U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper to compel the Trump administration to disclose withheld Kennedy Center records. The requested material includes documents, emails, and text messages concerning Trump’s influence over the center and plans to close it for renovations.

The administration withheld the records by claiming they contain privileged presidential communications. Beatty’s lawyers argue that claim cannot stand because the communications directly concern the court’s questions. The Kennedy Center’s record list identifies messages involving its leadership and Trump’s intermediaries.

The list includes 19 messages between executive director and CEO Matt Floca and Trump executive assistant Natalie Harp. It also includes about 180 center-related texts between Floca and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Cooper had not ruled on the request when the article was published, so the records remained undisclosed.

The Kennedy Center is a performing arts center in Washington, and its management oversees the institution’s operations and major facility decisions. In this dispute, management matters because attorneys are examining how President Donald Trump influenced the center’s leaders and its plan to close the main building.

The center’s executive director and CEO, Matt Floca, exchanged messages with Trump executive assistant Natalie Harp and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Plaintiffs’ lawyers describe Lutnick as Trump’s go-between. The center’s board voted three times to close the facility, and Floca ordered a temporary closure of the main building on Sept. 16.

The management records could show how those decisions developed. They could also clarify whether Trump’s influence operated directly or through intermediaries. The dispute remains before Judge Christopher Cooper, who had not ruled on Beatty’s request to compel disclosure.

The list identifies 19 text messages between Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s executive director and CEO, and Natalie Harp, Trump’s executive assistant. Beatty’s lawyers say the messages concerned Kennedy Center matters, making them potentially important evidence in the dispute.

The list also identifies approximately 180 center-related texts exchanged between Floca and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Plaintiffs’ lawyers describe Lutnick as Trump’s go-between. Eleven of Floca and Harp’s 19 messages were exchanged on Sept. 15, the day the board voted for a third time to close the facility.

The two groups total approximately 199 identified texts, although the article gives the second figure as “approximately 180.” These records are only a listed portion of the withheld material. Beatty’s attorneys want the court to order disclosure, but Judge Christopher Cooper had not ruled.

Presidential communications privilege generally protects confidential communications involving a president and presidential advisers when disclosure could interfere with the presidency’s official functions. It is the administration’s stated basis for withholding the Kennedy Center records sought by Rep. Joyce Beatty’s attorneys.

The withheld list includes messages involving Trump’s executive assistant, Natalie Harp, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The administration claims these records contain privileged presidential communications. Beatty’s lawyers respond that the communications directly bear on the issues before Judge Christopher Cooper and that the privilege claim cannot stand.

The court must decide whether the administration’s privilege claim covers these particular records and whether the need for relevant evidence requires disclosure. Cooper had not ruled when the article was published. The White House also had not immediately commented on the filing, leaving the dispute unresolved.

The emails and texts could give the court a fuller picture of Trump’s influence over the Kennedy Center. Plaintiffs’ lawyers say a records list suggests Trump was in near-constant contact with management, directly or through intermediaries. That matters because Beatty is challenging the plan to close the center for renovations.

The listed messages provide a concrete example. Matt Floca exchanged 19 texts with Trump executive assistant Natalie Harp and approximately 180 center-related texts with Howard Lutnick, whom lawyers call Trump’s go-between. Eleven Harp messages came on Sept. 15, when the board voted for a third time to close.

If disclosed, the records could help the court assess who shaped the closure decision and how Trump’s influence operated. Without them, Beatty’s lawyers say she will lack a complete picture of defendants’ actions. Cooper had not decided whether to compel disclosure.

Donald Trump was named the Kennedy Center’s chairman last year by loyalists on its board. The article says he has claimed the building is dangerous and must be “ripped down.” His administration is now resisting disclosure of communications about the center’s management and closure plans.

Matt Floca was the center’s executive director and CEO. He exchanged 19 texts with Trump executive assistant Natalie Harp and approximately 180 center-related texts with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whom Beatty’s lawyers describe as Trump’s go-between. The center’s board voted three times to close the facility.

Floca ordered a temporary closure of the main building on Sept. 16, one day after the board’s third vote. Harp and Lutnick appear in the records as Trump-linked contacts, while Floca represents center management. The court is examining these roles, but Cooper had not ruled on disclosure.

Courts can order parties to produce relevant evidence, but presidents and administrations may claim confidentiality for certain official communications. That balance protects the need for candid presidential advice while preserving a court’s ability to examine evidence central to a legal dispute. The article presents this as an unresolved conflict.

The administration withheld Kennedy Center records by invoking privileged presidential communications. Beatty’s attorneys argue the documents, emails, and texts directly bear on the case. They point to 19 Floca-Harp texts and approximately 180 Floca-Lutnick texts as records that could clarify Trump’s influence and the closure decision.

Judge Christopher Cooper must decide whether the privilege claim covers the withheld material and whether disclosure should be compelled. The article does not report a ruling. Cooper previously ordered the Kennedy Center to remove Trump’s name and later required 30 days’ notice before major physical changes.