在一份不同寻常的文件中，DOJ民事部门的高级官员布兰特利·梅耶斯（Brantley Mayers）认为，如果特朗普不干预，“破旧”的肯尼迪中心面临迫在眉睫的“死亡螺旋”，这份文件有时看起来像是特朗普社交媒体平台上的一篇帖子。
“没有这些努力，该中心将进一步恶化，成为一个不安全、破旧的结构，需要被拆除，并决心在原址上建造什么，比如一个俯瞰波托马克河的大型户外圆形剧场，有些人已经提议了多年，”文件称。“这样的替换将不能充分地纪念约翰·肯尼迪总统，但建造、操作和维护将更简单、更经济。”
梅耶斯利用这份文件反复攻击俄亥俄州众议员乔伊斯·贝蒂（Joyce Beatty），他是肯尼迪中心董事会的成员，去年提起诉讼，要求将特朗普的名字从大楼中删除。比提的诉讼称，董事会投票给大楼重新命名是非法的，因为这样的行动需要国会法案。
Mayers警告说，如果允许Beatty的法律努力继续下去，监督诉讼的联邦法官“几乎保证了肯尼迪中心的持续衰落和最终消亡，可能会导致一个新的，但非常不同的场馆的建设。”
在回应司法部周二提交的文件的声明中，贝蒂的律师称DOJ的申请“没有法律依据”，并表示，如果法院阻止计划中的翻新，DOJ威胁拆除肯尼迪中心是“不合情理的”。
“如果总统不能如愿，这是一个毫不隐晦的拆除肯尼迪中心的威胁。律师诺曼·艾森·纳撒尼尔·泽林斯基在一份声明中说：“这是不合情理的，司法部甚至将此提交文件也是不合适的，我们将在法庭上回答。”
DOJ称，肯尼迪中心董事会批准的旨在表彰特朗普个人努力的举措是“至关重要的”，包括在大楼正面添加“由唐纳德·j·特朗普总统翻新和修复”的题字，并将中心所在的地点重命名为“唐纳德·j·特朗普总统广场”，以确保已经承诺帮助资助翻新工作的捐助者付款。
很抱歉，这段文本暂时无法提供译文特朗普政府已经准备好了，但没有它，肯尼迪中心就无法挽救。＂
美国地区法官克里斯托弗·科普（Christopher Coper）已安排在周四下午2点就贝蒂提出的紧急动议举行听证会，该动议寻求禁令，以阻止将特朗普的名字重新添加到表演艺术中心。
＇Unconscionable＇： Lawyers hit back after Trump admin suggests Kennedy Center could be demolished
The Justice Department suggested in a court filing Tuesday that theKennedy Centercould face demolition in the event a federal judge issues an order permanently blocking President Donald Trump＇s push to renovate the facility with additions intended to recognize Trump personally．
In an extraordinary filing that at times reads like a post from Trump＇s social media platform， Brantley Mayers — a top official in DOJ＇s Civil Division — argues the ＂decrepit＂ Kennedy Center faces an imminent ＂death spiral＂ without Trump＇s intervention．
＂Without those efforts， the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe， decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down， with a determination to follow on what to build on the site， such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed， by some， for many years，＂ the filing said． ＂Such a replacement will fail to adequately honor President John F． Kennedy， but would be simpler and more economical to build， operate， and maintain．＂
Mayers uses the filing to repeatedly attack Rep． Joyce Beatty， D-Ohio， a member of the Kennedy Center＇s board who filed suit last year to have Trump＇s name removed from the building． Beatty＇s lawsuit argued the board’s vote to rename the building was illegal because an act of Congress is required for such an action．
Permitting Beatty＇s legal efforts to continue， Mayers warns the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit， ＂almost guarantees the continued decline and eventual demise of the Kennedy Center， probably leading to the construction of a new， but very different kind， of venue．＂
In a statement responding to the papers filed by the Department of Justice on Tuesday， lawyers for Beatty called DOJ＇s filing ＂legally baseless＂ and said it was ＂unconscionable＂ that DOJ would threaten to demolish the Kennedy Center if the court were to block the planned renovations．
“This is a not-so-subtle threat to demolish the Kennedy Center if the President doesn’t get his way． This is unconscionable， it is unbecoming of the Department of Justice to even put this in a filing， and we will answer in court，＂ attorneys Norman Eisen Nathaniel Zelinsky said in a statement．
The DOJ describes the initiatives approved by the Kennedy Center＇s board that intend to honor Trump personally for his effort — including adding the inscription ＂Renovated and Restored by President Donald J． Trump＂ on the front of the building and renaming the site that contains the Center the ＂President Donald J． Trump Plaza＂ — as ＂crucial＂ to ensure payments from donors who have already pledged to help fund the renovation effort．
＂An order blocking the Board from appropriately recognizing President Trump will cause donors to flee， financial contributions to dry up， and structural rehabilitation to stop，＂ the department argues． ＂There will simply not be the expertise or funding necessary to rebuild and renovate this decimated structure．The Trump Administration is ready to go but， without it， the Kennedy Center cannot be saved．＂
U．S． District Judge Christopher Coper has scheduled a hearing for 2 p．m． Thursday on an emergency motion filed by Beatty seeking an injunction to block the re-adding of Trump＇s name on the performing arts center．
