Donald Trump’s acting attorney general has abruptly shut down questions about the legal threat to the president’s UFC birthday bash, refusing to say if he would comply with a judge’s ruling if the event is blocked.
On Thursday, The Daily Beast was given a sneak peek at the arena being built at the White House, dominated by a giant steel lighting structure known as “The Claw” that towers above an octagon at the center of the South Lawn.
But across town at the Justice Department, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was holding a press conference focused on immigration when a reporter pressed him on the lawsuit seeking to halt Sunday’s UFC spectacle on the South Lawn.
Asked whether the administration would adhere to any court order issued by the judge that could block the event, Blanche replied: “I’m not going to talk about the UFC fight. We’re going to just talk about why we’re here today” before moving on.
Blanche, a former Trump personal attorney who the president has nominated to take over the Justice Department, was asked twice about the issue, but refused to answer on both occasions.
The terse response comes as the White House and Justice Department wage a legal battle over the most controversial sporting event in Trump’s second term.
The event falls on the president’s 80th birthday, which is also Flag Day in America.
But the event has come under growing scrutiny: sponsors have reportedly paid more than $1 million for premium access packages; Paramount, owned by Trump ally David Ellison, is streaming the fights;and UFC “Freedom 250”-themed coins featuring Trump’s face and are even being marketed by the Trump Organization, which is run by the president’s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr.
As reported by The Daily Beast last month, financial disclosures also showed that Trump purchased up to $50,000 in shares of TKO Group Holdings, the publicly traded sports giant that owns both the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
The investment follows a smaller purchase of up to $15,000 that Trump made last year, just before he announced the historic June 14 event during a rally in Iowa.
“When it comes to Trump’s grift, brazen is an understatement,” Lauren White from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said.
According to court filings submitted this week, UFC “Freedom 250″ has ballooned into a production expected to cost roughly $60 million, involving nearly 900 contractors, hundreds of trucks, extensive broadcast infrastructure and support from at least seven federal agencies.
The lawsuit, filed by local residents and backed by the Public Integrity Project, has asked U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the event.
The suit argues that the administration illegally bypassed federal rules to transform the White House grounds into a private, commercial sporting event that Trump and his allies are seeking to monetize.
“This nation’s public monuments should not be loaned out for private exploitation,” the plaintiffs said.
The White House, however, says the event will be an historic way to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary and that the lawsuit is baseless.
Organizers are preparing for crowds that could exceed 125,000 people across both the White House, where VIP guests will convene, and at the Ellipse, the area behind the South Lawn where fans will be able to watch the event on large screens.
In a response filed on Tuesday, Justice Department lawyers accused the plaintiffs of trying to sabotage the fight night, writing that “it would be easy enough to simply avert their gazes for the weekend.”
“Instead, they seek to enlist the power of a federal court to impose their idiosyncratic preferences on the rest of the country and ruin an event designed to celebrate the United States of America.”
