Donald Trump is throwing himself quite the 80th birthday party at the White House on Sunday. All he needs now is for a federal judge, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and a passing thunderstorm not to ruin it.
The watchdog group Public Integrity Project filed a lawsuit on Saturday in DC federal court, seeking an emergency injunction to halt the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Freedom 250 event before a single punch is thrown on 14 June – which so happens both Flag Day and the president’s birthday.
The case names the National Park Service and Department of the Interior as defendants, arguing the administration has broken multiple federal laws to accommodate what it describes as a “deeply corrupt” private, commercial sporting event, dressed up as a patriotic celebration.
“The President is giving [UFC CEO Dana] White and his company what none have enjoyed before: unfettered access to the White House and Lincoln Memorial to stage a private, for-profit sports event, with all the promotional and branding opportunities that accompany such access,” the complaint states.
The legal challenge centers on a National Park Service temporary rule allowing the agency to bypass normal permitting for events marking the 250th anniversary of US independence, but only for events “planned, organized and executed” by the federal government. The lawsuit argues that UFC Freedom 250, which White has admitted was Trump’s idea, fails that test, describing it as “a celebration of the UFC’s brand and the 80th anniversary of Donald Trump’s birth”.
The suit also alleges that the Claw – a vast 92ft, 600-ton steel structure, now dominating the South Lawn, which has re-routed presidential travel and could be seen from the front of the White House – was erected without required congressional authorization, and without a mandatory environmental review.
Adding to the conflict of interest allegations, Trump’s financial disclosures show he purchased up to $50,000 worth of stock in TKO Group Holdings, the UFC’s parent company, in March. “This is fundamentally a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain,” Brendan Ballou, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the Associated Press.
A White House official said: “This is an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory lawsuit brought simply to prevent President Trump from hosting what will undoubtedly go down as one of the most historic sporting events in our Nation’s history during our semiquincentennial celebration.”
While 4,300 military personnel are expected to be in attendance, nearly every celebrity White told Time magazine he had personally invited – including Johnson, Adam Sandler and Jared Leto – has reportedly declined. The event remains a coveted ticket among Washington power brokers, with donors, lobbyists and members of Congress jostling for seats.
Those who do attend may want to keep an eye on the weather. The Washington DC forecast from the National Weather Service, which has endured hundreds of staffing slashes under Trump, on 14 June currently shows a chance of showers and thunderstorms.
Conditions are expected to deteriorate into the evening, right around the time the main event is due to begin.
