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LetMyPeopleVote

(181,015 posts)
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 05:21 PM Yesterday

Justice Department Calls to Drop Ballroom Suit After Gala Attack

Source: Bloomberg Law

A top Justice Department official demanded that a historic preservationalist group drop its challenge to Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, following an attempted attack Saturday at a Washington gala the president attended.

Brett Shumate, who leads the Justice Department’s civil division, gave an attorney for the National Trust for Historic Preservation until 9 a.m. Monday for his client to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit challenging construction of a 90,00-square foot ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing.

“Put simply, your lawsuit puts the lives of the President, his family, and his staff at grave risk,” Shumate wrote in the letter. “I hope yesterday’s narrow miss will help you finally realize the folly of a lawsuit that literally serves no purpose except to stop President Trump no matter the cost.”

The letter, addressed to Gregory Craig of Foley Hoag, was posted on X on Sunday by acting attorney general Todd Blanche, the day after an armed suspect attempted to enter a Washington hotel ballroom during the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner. Trump attended the dinner for the first time as president, alongside other top administration officials, and was expected to deliver a speech.

Shumate said in his letter that a completed ballroom would mean future presidents “will no longer need to venture beyond the safety of the White House perimeter to attend large gatherings at the Washington Hilton ballroom.”

Read more: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/justice-department-calls-to-drop-ballroom-suit-after-gala-attack




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Justice Department Calls to Drop Ballroom Suit After Gala Attack (Original Post) LetMyPeopleVote Yesterday OP
Bullshit! bluestarone Yesterday #1
B.S. is right..... Carry on with the lawsuits !!!! Rebuild the East Wing !!! Trueblue1968 21 hrs ago #29
So, the President's life is at risk if he doesn't have a ballroom? WTAF? This is some cray cray shite they are throwing. wcmagumba Yesterday #2
Didn't he have a threat at his golf course? Attilatheblond 23 hrs ago #23
Here is the letter referenced in the OP LetMyPeopleVote Yesterday #3
Eating Raoul Akakoji 23 hrs ago #20
the argument sounds reasonable until..... RussBLib Yesterday #4
How secure is Mar-A-Lago? It's so secure ... JustABozoOnThisBus Yesterday #5
...and just about anyone can join for, what is it now, $100k? RussBLib Yesterday #8
For even less, an armed stalker can hang out on his nearby golf course Attilatheblond 23 hrs ago #24
Ridiculous JBTaurus83 Yesterday #6
Now that he's afraid to go outdoors or into any venue not his own... greatauntoftriplets Yesterday #7
Fuck you, Blanche. An ugly ballroom would NOT have prevented what happened. SunSeeker Yesterday #9
Kick dalton99a Yesterday #10
HA!!! My dead dog could have predicted this! BigmanPigman Yesterday #11
Didn't Trump want the 'show' to go on? mzmolly Yesterday #12
in the meantime, schoolkids enduring school shootings get THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS Skittles Yesterday #16
So *THAT'S* why it was staged !! LIHOP writhes again !! nt eppur_se_muova Yesterday #13
We supposed to believe that fat fuck would be out cutting a rug in that ballroom? Bengus81 Yesterday #14
Message auto-removed Name removed 16 hrs ago #34
Remember...Trump NEVER went to a CD in his first four years,now he wants to go to two Bengus81 Yesterday #15
He's moving on us "like a bitch" 0rganism Yesterday #17
Well, there's a non-sequitur KT2000 Yesterday #18
No Akakoji 23 hrs ago #19
Even if they start building the stupid thing tomorrow it won't be finished until he is out of office... wcmagumba 23 hrs ago #21
Gee, that sure was quick Nigrum Cattus 23 hrs ago #22
The ballroom that trump bulldozed was smaller, 70sEraVet 22 hrs ago #25
Shocking SheltieLover 22 hrs ago #26
What a load of crappy nonsense. Dave Bowman 22 hrs ago #27
He "demanded" that the group "voluntarily" dismiss the suit? Sounds like mob talk. William Seger 22 hrs ago #28
the simple solution is to only hold events that have proper security Historic NY 20 hrs ago #30
Trump's stupid ballroom, despite its massive height, is way too small for the WHC dinner anyway. SunSeeker 17 hrs ago #33
That's a great rebuttal. SomewhereInTheMiddle 13 hrs ago #36
Continued work on the bunker that was updated when Obama was President... Historic NY 9 hrs ago #38
Oh, please! Re DOJ. 😑🙄 electric_blue68 18 hrs ago #31
Meritless bullshit Picaro 17 hrs ago #32
MS NOW's "The Weekend" co-host, Eugene Daniels, was on with Al Sharpton discussing this Rhiannon12866 14 hrs ago #35
Didn't he also go to some wrestling event afterwards or recently? travelingthrulife 10 hrs ago #37
Group won't end its lawsuit to halt Trump's ballroom. LetMyPeopleVote 7 hrs ago #39
MaddowBlog-Trump's Justice Department joins ballroom lobbying campaign in an unusual way LetMyPeopleVote 2 hrs ago #40
National Trust says it won't drop suit against Trump's $400M White House ballroom after DOJ request LetMyPeopleVote 2 hrs ago #41

wcmagumba

(6,483 posts)
2. So, the President's life is at risk if he doesn't have a ballroom? WTAF? This is some cray cray shite they are throwing.
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 05:25 PM
Yesterday

Attilatheblond

(9,100 posts)
23. Didn't he have a threat at his golf course?
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 08:42 PM
23 hrs ago

Bet he's not giving up golf, just hotel ballrooms. Yeah, sure.

More and more we see reasons for last night being a MIHOP incident.

LetMyPeopleVote

(181,015 posts)
3. Here is the letter referenced in the OP
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 05:27 PM
Yesterday

This idiot DOJ lawyer should be embarrassed for signing his name to this letter



You’d think the acting AG would be prioritizing justice after an apparent mass shooting attempt involving top officials in our government, but he seems more focused on getting Donald Trump’s ballroom built—something that has nothing to do with last night’s event.


RussBLib

(10,692 posts)
4. the argument sounds reasonable until.....
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 05:28 PM
Yesterday

....until you think about the fact that the president leaves the "perimeter" of the White House multiple times per month. Oh no, how could he possibly be protected if he is not in the perimeter of the White House?!?!

BTW, how secure is Mar-A-Lago?

https://russblib.blogspot.com

JustABozoOnThisBus

(24,706 posts)
5. How secure is Mar-A-Lago? It's so secure ...
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 05:31 PM
Yesterday

... that we can keep top secret documents in the bathrooms for light reading.

RussBLib

(10,692 posts)
8. ...and just about anyone can join for, what is it now, $100k?
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 05:35 PM
Yesterday

Evildoers, to quote Bush, can easily come up with that much money, in a snap.

https://russblib.blogspot.com

Attilatheblond

(9,100 posts)
24. For even less, an armed stalker can hang out on his nearby golf course
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 08:45 PM
23 hrs ago

Oh wait, that already happened.

JBTaurus83

(1,579 posts)
6. Ridiculous
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 05:32 PM
Yesterday

How would it be more secure than any other building that the President is in? He’s out playing golf nearly every weekend. Someone could just fly drones with explosives into the course.

greatauntoftriplets

(179,231 posts)
7. Now that he's afraid to go outdoors or into any venue not his own...
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 05:33 PM
Yesterday

...maybe he should just resign to save his life. It's ridiculous to expect that every event that the president attends must be held in an unbuilt ballroom. And would his prices for use of the ballroom be more or less expensive than Washington, DC, hotel ballrooms?

SunSeeker

(58,351 posts)
9. Fuck you, Blanche. An ugly ballroom would NOT have prevented what happened.
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 05:43 PM
Yesterday

The dude did not even get on the same floor as the dinner. Nothing different would have happened if the dinner was in that awful ballroom.

BigmanPigman

(55,400 posts)
11. HA!!! My dead dog could have predicted this!
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 05:57 PM
Yesterday

Sorry Spike, it's not an insult, it's a compliment.

Doy-uh!

mzmolly

(52,825 posts)
12. Didn't Trump want the 'show' to go on?
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 06:31 PM
Yesterday

Supposedly he was reluctant to call it a night after gun shots rang out at the WHCD, yet we're to believe he needs a ballroom for his protection?

Bengus81

(10,280 posts)
14. We supposed to believe that fat fuck would be out cutting a rug in that ballroom?
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 06:58 PM
Yesterday

My azzzz...and how many events would Melanie be under "contract" to attend?

Response to Bengus81 (Reply #14)

Bengus81

(10,280 posts)
15. Remember...Trump NEVER went to a CD in his first four years,now he wants to go to two
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 07:01 PM
Yesterday

in just one month. Such bullshit every day...........

0rganism

(25,684 posts)
17. He's moving on us "like a bitch"
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 07:40 PM
Yesterday

Next up: the pussy-grabbing. When you're a president, we let you do it.

wcmagumba

(6,483 posts)
21. Even if they start building the stupid thing tomorrow it won't be finished until he is out of office...
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 08:24 PM
23 hrs ago

or will he ever be out of office? AI could probably put together a virtual T-rump that could last 100 years or so...scary...

Nigrum Cattus

(1,345 posts)
22. Gee, that sure was quick
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 08:39 PM
23 hrs ago

less than 24 hours later they have a plan to push forward ?
no investigation into exactly what happened

70sEraVet

(5,554 posts)
25. The ballroom that trump bulldozed was smaller,
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 09:11 PM
22 hrs ago

And would have been much easier to secure than the gigantic monstrosity that has wants to build!
Make him build it back, just as it was -- and be sure to use his 'donor' money to do it!

Historic NY

(40,107 posts)
30. the simple solution is to only hold events that have proper security
Sun Apr 26, 2026, 11:31 PM
20 hrs ago

Just because a ball room is being built doesn't make it safe , it just makes it a bigger target.

SunSeeker

(58,351 posts)
33. Trump's stupid ballroom, despite its massive height, is way too small for the WHC dinner anyway.
Mon Apr 27, 2026, 02:26 AM
17 hrs ago

The Hilton ballroom, where the WHC dinner was held, was filled, and it seats 2,945 people. Trump says his proposed ballroom will seat only 999. Plus, 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 plaintiffs are seeking to block. So this incident was not a basis for saying there is a security argument for building Trump’s ugly ballroom.

36. That's a great rebuttal.
Mon Apr 27, 2026, 06:38 AM
13 hrs ago

But I'd imagine his response would be "We could fit it in the ballroom if we kicked out all the reporters."

That would be his ideal - not only owning the venue but controlling the invite list - "sorry Mr. Obama, security says you can't attend the dinner in your honor."

It is essential he have something that no other president has ever had, or needed.

Sigh.

Historic NY

(40,107 posts)
38. Continued work on the bunker that was updated when Obama was President...
Mon Apr 27, 2026, 10:17 AM
9 hrs ago

dumbass didn't know it was there until the started to wreck it. It was mainly a secret

https://www.twz.com/21026/white-house-sinkhole-is-a-reminder-of-the-bunkers-that-are-buried-beneath-it]

Then, in 2010, part of the North Lawn adjacent to the West Wing of the White House was dug up and barriers were erected around the hole to hide part of a highly secretive a $375M construction project from the prying eyes of the very nearby media.

There are several bunker the ballroom was the FDR/ Truman atomic bomb upgrade one.

Picaro

(2,407 posts)
32. Meritless bullshit
Mon Apr 27, 2026, 02:19 AM
17 hrs ago

The linkage between these two very different things that are basically not related.

Rhiannon12866

(257,369 posts)
35. MS NOW's "The Weekend" co-host, Eugene Daniels, was on with Al Sharpton discussing this
Mon Apr 27, 2026, 05:17 AM
14 hrs ago

Since he's been in charge of planning the White House Correspondents' Dinner before. And he said there is no way that a gathering of journalists would ever agree to hold their annual gala in Trump's ballroom - which, BTW, he still is legally forbidden to build.

travelingthrulife

(5,434 posts)
37. Didn't he also go to some wrestling event afterwards or recently?
Mon Apr 27, 2026, 10:03 AM
10 hrs ago

Do we have to build a secure wrestling arena too? Secure football field for when he wants to watch a game? Secure child rape room?

Nonsense thinking.

LetMyPeopleVote

(181,015 posts)
40. MaddowBlog-Trump's Justice Department joins ballroom lobbying campaign in an unusual way
Mon Apr 27, 2026, 05:21 PM
2 hrs ago

It’s really not the DOJ’s job to tell private litigants “enough is enough” because the president doesn’t want to be inconvenienced by the legal process.



https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-justice-department-joins-ballroom-lobbying-campaign

But as part of his campaign, Trump specifically condemned the ongoing lawsuit challenging the legality of his construction project, writing online, “The ridiculous Ballroom lawsuit, brought by a woman walking her dog, who has absolutely No Standing to bring such a suit, must be dropped, immediately. Nothing should be allowed to interfere with … its construction.”

Trump’s Justice Department evidently noticed. From the MS NOW report:

The Justice Department demanded the National Trust for Historic Preservation drop its lawsuit against the construction of the ballroom.

‘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 DOJ] asserted in a letter Sunday.


In the same one-page letter, Brett Shumate, the DOJ Civil Division’s assistant attorney general, added, “Put simply, 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 in light of last night’s assassination attempt on President Trump. If your client does not dismiss the lawsuit by 9:00 AM on Monday, the government will move to dissolve the injunction and dismiss the case in light of last night’s extraordinary events.”....

We didn’t necessarily need fresh evidence of Main Justice acting like an extension of the Oval Office and the president’s wishes, but Shumate and Blanche offered up a new example on Sunday anyway.

LetMyPeopleVote

(181,015 posts)
41. National Trust says it won't drop suit against Trump's $400M White House ballroom after DOJ request
Mon Apr 27, 2026, 05:44 PM
2 hrs ago

The request to drop this lawsuit was so stupid that it is sad. The lawyers in the DOJ who made that request should be embarrassed.

Let the Baby have his candy IF, and only if, we can name it “The Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Ballroom” 💃🕺(via @apnews.com) National Trust says it won't drop suit against Trump's 0M White House ballroom after DOJ request

Toke Up #СлаваУкраїні #ГероямСлава Kill Nazis 🌻 (@tokeupkillnazis.bsky.social) 2026-04-27T21:29:31.343Z

https://apnews.com/article/white-house-ballroom-donald-trump-lawsuit-bcbe5b42723fcae1870d55b5921404b5

WASHINGTON (AP) — Preservationists are pressing ahead with their lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s planned $400 million White House ballroom, declining a request by the Department of Justice to withdraw the complaint following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.

Trump and other conservatives have made a renewed push for the ballroom in the wake of Saturday’s media dinner shooting, arguing it exposed the difficulties in ensuring presidential security at large events outside the White House grounds, and urging the National Trust for Historic Preservation to drop its lawsuit.

Top Justice officials said the government would ask a court to dismiss the lawsuit “in light of last night’s extraordinary events” if the Trust did not voluntarily drop it.

Trust attorney Gregory Craig declined that request, writing to the Justice Department that the legal issues at the heart of the lawsuit are unchanged.

“What Saturday’s awful event does not change is that the Constitution and multiple federal statutes require Congress to authorize construction of a ballroom on White House grounds, and that Congress has not done so,” Craig wrote.
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