White House ballroom funding contract disclosed after FOIA lawsuit

The Trump Administration today disclosed the funding agreement for Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project. The administration disclosed the 14-page “Philanthropic Support Agreement” between the White House, the National Park Service and the non-profit Trust for the National Mall in response to Public Citizen’s FOIA request and a subsequent lawsuit.In October, Public Citizen submitted a FOIA request to the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior seeking the White House Ballroom contract. In December, when the agencies had failed to respond, Public Citizen filed a lawsuit asking the court to compel the agencies to comply with FOIA.“The Trump Administration’s failure to disclose this contract was flatly unlawful,” said Wendy Liu, Public Citizen attorney and lead counsel on the lawsuit. “The American people are entitled to transparency over this multi-million-dollar project, and this win gets us a bit closer to knowing the truth.”“This is the first time we don’t