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Some legal experts argued the new designation from Caine puts the structure out of the reach and jurisdiction of any federal court.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump alleged that the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the organization that filed the lawsuit, had been provided with detailed plans and specifications for the project that disclosed what he described as “top secret military features.”
Trump argued that the litigation had exposed sensitive aspects of the proposed building’s design.
White House officials and Justice Department attorneys have defended the $400 million East Wing ballroom project, describing it as a critical component of a broader security complex intended to protect the president, White House staff and visiting foreign leaders from threats that could include drones, ballistic missiles and biological hazards.
Trump said the NTHP Preservation is “trying to stop [something] that is vital to our National Security, and the Safety of all Presidents of the United States, both current and future, their families, staff, and Cabinet members.”
“They were shown detailed plans and specifications of this knitted, unified, and cohesive structure by Top Officers and Leaders in both the Military and Secret Service,” he wrote.
That was in reference to a reported Iranian missile threat to Air Force One that prompted the president to take the Secret Service’s recommendation and secretly switch planes while leaving Turkey.