Inside sources who spoke with The Washington Post have confirmed that President Donald Trump was repeatedly warned about fire and safety code issues surrounding his gaudy bulletproof ballroom bunker project in the East Wing of the White House, only to declare, "I am the code."
According to The Post, the original architect of the highly controversial, $400 million-plus project, James McCrery II, ultimately stepped down after repeatedly warning that Donald Trump's early ballroom designs were highly problematic for safety. Sources said that Trump would regularly sit around and mark up images and plans for the ballroom with his trusty, dusty black Sharpie, taking an overtly dismissive approach to required emergency exits and proper fire safety measures.
When people around him pointed out the glaring safety issues, Trump apparently had only four words to say: "I am the code."
Despite the ongoing heated controversy and extensive legal issues surrounding the multi-million-dollar project, the president has rolled full steam ahead, demolishing the historic East Wing of the White House to begin work on his ballroom without required approval from Congress, claiming the ballroom bunker is absolutely necessary for "security reasons."
The project is under the purview of a little-known office, the Executive Residence, that is not beholden to federal rules.
According to the Post, the issue of fire and safety codes went on for months and months:
Discussions about the life-safety deficiencies in the ballroom’s design continued for months after McCrery resigned, according to White House records. The records reviewed by The Post do not make it clear whether the safety issues he identified have been resolved in more recent designs by Shalom Baranes Associates, the architecture firm that replaced McCrery’s firm late last year.
Shalom Baranes Associates declined to comment.
The Trump White House released a statement claiming McCrery's exit from the ballroom project was unrelated to the fire and safety code issues, and insisted those issues "have been addressed and resolved continuously as the design has evolved."
"McCrery was a valued member of the initial design team of the East Wing Modernization Project,” the statement read.
"The decision was made to move in another direction for the second phase of the project and we continue to make tremendous strides in realizing the goal of providing a world class military and functional facility for future Presidents to utilize."
McCrery originally declined to comment on the matter, but ultimately provided the Post with a vague statement:
President Trump entrusted me with the earliest stages of the new ballroom design. I am truly grateful for that honor and for the rich experience of working for him alongside all the highly talented and committed patriots at the Executive Mansion. Having completed the earliest designs, I stepped aside and a new firm was engaged.
