Federal appeals court: Trump's name stays off Kennedy Center
· UPIJuly 8 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump's name must stay off the Kennedy Center building and other items while a lawsuit continues.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a new order denying a motion from a Justice Department lawyer who argued that removing Trump's name would harm the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and its fundraising efforts.
A three-judge panel said the defendants "failed to support this assertion with any specific facts or evidence." They also turned down arguments that the center's rules would require it to return contributions made while Trump's name was on the building
"Appellants never raised that factual contention in district court, and they have given no explanation for failing to do so," the order said. None of the judges dissented.
In May, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered Trump's name removed from the center, ruling that the center's board acted illegally in renaming it without congressional approval. Workers eventually removed the name from building during an overnight operation June 13, just before Cooper's deadline.
The same panel of judges declined the president's demand for an immediate order to prevent his name's removal before that deadline, CNN reported.
Tarps and scaffolding still obstruct much of the building's front and name, including the spot where letters were removed. In late June, Cooper ordered center officials to provide an explanation for the covers. One has not been reported.
Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio member of the center's board, brought the original lawsuit in the case. She said Wednesday that this ruling affirms that the Trump administration's effort to add his name were unlawful.
"His name no long desecrates this sacred memorial, which belongs to the American people," Beatty said, CNN reported. "Now it is time for the Trump administration to accept this, comply with the law and take the tarps down."
The Kennedy Center's board of trustees voted in December to add Trump's name to the building. The decision came less than a year after Trump dismissed the entire board and named new board members, who in turn elected him chairman.
Trump at the time said the name change was a surprise, but his name was added to the center the next day.