A Democratic lawmaker who accused Donald Trump of denying her an invitation to a meeting to discuss the proposed overhaul of the Kennedy Center has admitted that the invite was actually in her spam folder.
Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, who has filed a lawsuit against the administration’s planned closure and revamp of the world-famous arts center, claimed she had been blocked from the meeting on March 16.
“Plaintiff appreciates Defendants’ confirmation that she can attend the meeting at the White House. Upon further investigation, it appears that the email regarding the Board meeting was routed to Plaintiff’s spam folder,” lawyers for the congresswoman wrote Thursday.
Beatty’s lawsuit seeks to have a temporary restraining order granted that would stop the closure of the Kennedy Center, and the subsequent cancellation of performances, firing of staff and even possible demolition of the building.
Trump has called the center “tired, broken and dilapidated,” and previously announced its closure for two years to make construction go faster – which Beatty has described as “lawless.”
Despite admitting the error over her invite, lawyers for Beatty said it “bears emphasis” that after Beatty was unable to find the email, she had contacted the General Counsel for the center but was “ignored” for two days.
“As a result, Plaintiff had reason to believe Defendants— who had already silenced her in the December meeting—had excluded her from the upcoming meeting,” lawyers wrote. “Regardless, in any event, her being ‘permitted to attend’ does not come anywhere close to remediating her harms.”
The board of the center is legally required to have several members of Congress on its board, and Beatty is an “ex officio” member. Her lawsuit, seeking to stop Trump from “shutter[ing]” and “gut[ting]” the building, was filed shortly after the board voted to include Trump’s name and change the signage accordingly.
Beatty, along with others, opposed the decision, which some have argued needed the approval of Congress to carry out. Her lawyers have claimed she was previously barred from voting on the name change and suggest that something similar will occur on March 16.
“The stakes could not be higher. I am asking the Court to prevent President Trump from doing to the Kennedy Center what he did to the East Wing of the White House, just a few months ago,” the congresswoman said in a statement last week.
