Letters from an American - The Ballroom Distraction

Starting point is 00:00:06 April 26, 26th, today, Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shoemate of the Department of Justice Civil Division wrote to the lawyer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, demanding that the organization drop its lawsuit against Trump's planned ballroom on the site where the east wing of the White House used to be. The letter claimed that there was another attempt on President Trump's life last night at the Washington Hilton, where Secret Service agents apprehended a man carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives on the floor above the room where the White House correspondence

Starting point is 00:00:45 dinner was taking place. The man whom police have identified as Cole Thomas Allen, 31 of California, sprinted through a magnetometer before authorities stopped him. Shots were fired, although it remains unclear who fired them. A secret service, service agent wearing a bulletproof vest was shot but has been released from the hospital. According to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Janine Piro, the government is charging coal with two counts of using a firearm and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. She made said last night's incident proves yet again that the White House ballroom is essential for the safety and security of the president, his family, his cabinet,

Starting point is 00:01:33 and his staff. When the White House ballroom is complete, President Trump and his successors will no longer need to venture beyond the safety of the White House perimeter to attend large gatherings at the Washington Hilton Ballroom. The White House ballroom will ensure the safety and security of the president for decades to come. Put simply, Schumate wrote, your lawsuit puts the lives of the president, his family, and his staff at grave risk. Enough is enough. He demanded the National Trust for Historic Preservation voluntarily dismiss this frivolous lawsuit today

Starting point is 00:02:12 in light of last night's assassination attempt on President Trump. If your client does not dismiss the lawsuit by 9 a.m. on Monday, the government will move to dissolve the injunction and dismiss the case in light of last night's extraordinary events. This is an odd angle to take, since, as Blue Sky user Tom Schaefer pointed out, the Hilton ballroom seats 2,945 people, and Trump says his proposed ballroom will seat only 999. And to be clear, a judge has permitted the construction of the secure facility under the ballroom to continue, despite the lawsuit. It's just the ballroom itself that's currently at issue. attending the White House correspondence dinner is not an official requirement.

Starting point is 00:03:04 This is actually the first time Trump has chosen to go as president. As Emily Davies, Isaac Arnsdorf, Jeremy Robach, and Joe Heim of the Washington Post reported today, the Trump administration could have provided a higher level of security last night, as it has for other gatherings of high-ranking officials, but it did not designate the dinner as a national special security event. Even so, Secret Service agents did indeed stop Cole before he could enter the ballroom. Yesterday, David A. Ferenhold, Luke Broadwater and Andrea Fuller of the New York Times reported that the Trump administration has secretly awarded the company it chose to build the ballroom, a no-bid $17.4 million contract to repair two ornamental fountains in Lafayette.

Starting point is 00:03:57 parked near the White House. In 2022, the Biden administration estimated the cost of the work to be $3.3 million. The journalists explained that the Trump administration dramatically increased the estimated cost by adding an additional 27 percent for inflation, and then adding another inflation estimate of 24 percent, then increased its estimate by another 50 percent because it wanted to get the fountains fixed quickly, then simply gave the contract to Maryland-based Clark construction. While Trump claims the ballroom will be paid for by private donations, the government will pay for the fountain repairs. This means the contract should have been open for competitive bidding. To justify awarding the contract without that process, the journalist's report, the administration

Starting point is 00:04:52 cited an urgency exception to normal procedures, meant for war or natural disasters. The focus on last night's event has obscured this upcoming week's big story. Trump has justified his refusal to seek congressional approval for his attack on Iran by claiming Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S. While Trump's own intelligence agencies contradicted that claim, it enabled Republicans to argue that Trump had authority to launch the strikes under the 1973 War Powers Act, which allows the President to act to counter an imminent threat. But the War Powers Act says the President must notify Congress

Starting point is 00:05:39 of any such action within 48 hours of its start. Then, by 60 days after that notification, the President has to stop using the military for that action unless the Congress either declares war or authorizes the use of the military, for that specific action. Democrats have fought hard against Trump's unilateral decision to go to war,

Starting point is 00:06:04 but Republicans have refused to press him to get congressional approval, apparently hoping that Trump would find a way out of the Middle East crisis before hitting the 60-day mark. But so far, he has not, and the 60-day window closes on May 1st. Trump appears to believe

Starting point is 00:06:24 the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports will hurt the country so badly that Iranian leaders will have to agree to his demands. But that pressure will take time to build. I have all the time in the world, but Iran doesn't, he posted Thursday. He told reporters, don't rush me, don't rush me. We were in Vietnam like for 18 years. We were in Iraq for many, many years. I don't like to say World War II because that was a biggie, but we were four and a half, almost five years in World War II. And we were in the Korean War for seven years. I've been doing this for six weeks. If Trump doesn't find an end of the conflict, Republicans must either vote to authorize what is already a deeply unpopular war, or let Trump

Starting point is 00:07:12 continuous war without congressional approval, adding fuel to accusations that he is becoming a dictator. After all, Trump claimed in January, after he had attacked Venezuela without congressional approval, that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional and would take away our powers to fight and defend the United States of America. The idea that the president can use the military as he wishes without authority from Congress demolishes one of the fundamental principles of our democracy,

Starting point is 00:07:47 that we have a right to us say in how our lives and treasure are spent. Rather than enabling Trump, Republicans could reassert the authority the framers of the Constitution put in Congress's hands and stop his deadly blundering. We've heard a lot of talk from Republicans that they'll give this president 60 days, the second-ranking Democrat in the House, Catherine Clark of Massachusetts, told Mike Lillis of the Hill. And this is a failed effort. and it's long past time that he come to Congress

Starting point is 00:08:29 and explain what the strategy is and what the exit is. Republicans have been saying that this is a crucial timeline for them. So put your vote up on the board. Letters from an American was written and read by Heather Cox Richardson. It was produced at Soundscape Productions,

Starting point is 00:08:56 dead in Massachusetts, recorded with music composed by Michael. almost.

Letters from an American - The Ballroom Distraction

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