U.S. District Judge Richard Leon clarified his earlier ruling that had halted construction of Donald Trump’s shockingly tasteless ballroom until Congress approved it, The Washington Post reported. Judge Leon had allowed construction that was necessary to ensure “the safety and security" of White House staff, the president and his family.
Marie Antoinette Trump argued in an appeal that he had not been blocked from continuing to build his $400 million, 90,000 sq. foot eyesore because he planned to add bulletproof glass, bomb shelters and “other security features to the building,” The Post explained.
Trump maintained that Leon’s order allowed him to keep building the ballroom, too, citing his plans to add bulletproof glass, bomb shelters and other security features to the building.
The appeals court asked Leon to clarify what, exactly, he had blocked before it rules on Trump’s appeal.
Now, the ballroom construction has been explicitly paused until Trump receives approval from Congress. “National security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity," Judge Leon wrote Thursday, as per The Post.
You have to wonder what Trump is really doing underneath the ballroom in the name of national security. “Trump has said that the military is building a ‘massive complex’ under the ballroom, but the administration has declined to offer details about the work,” The Post noted. “It has long been known that the area underneath the former East Wing contained secure facilities that the president and staff members could use in an emergency.”
Does anyone doubt he plans to slather that in gold, too?
