E (7:25)

Congressional approval, he also said, but this is positive for us. I'm allowed that. Meaning we are allowed to continue building as necessary to. Let's see, what is that? To cover the safety and security of the White House and its grounds. So it says here very carefully, the safety and security have to be protected of the White House grounds. Well, that's what we're doing, because everything's bulletproof glass, et cetera, et cetera, including the ballroom. And then it goes construction and all of the things necessary, it says, personal safety of the president and his staff are a part of that. So it talks about that we're allowed to continue building. Other words, he put an order on, and even that he gave 14 days. We don't need it, because that's what we're doing, is allowed to continue building as necessary. And when it talks about the safety and security of the White House and its grounds. So just so you know, I wrote some of the thing down. We have a drone proof roof. And it talks about the President and his staff. Well, we're having a lot of bulletproof glass. White House was built a long time ago. This has the highest level of. In fact, they call this graph, this grass, the glass. It's bulletproof and it's ballistic proof. It's very thick. It's like that, and it's going 45ft high. And every window is covered, every door is covered. The roof is drone proof. We have secure air handling systems. You know, bad things happen in the air if you have bad people. We have bio defense all over. We have secure telecommunications and communications all over. We have bomb shelters that we're building. We have a hospital and very major medical facilities that we're building. We have all of these things. So that's called. I'm allowed to continue building as necessary. So think of that for the safety of the President. So we have all these things. So on that we're okay, where.

D (9:53)

That's not what the order says. There's actually a memorandum opinion, and then there is an order that goes along with it. In the memorandum opinion, the judge addresses the large hole issue. Okay? The law of holes. Defendant, on page 33, defendants, that's the Trump side, predictably object, arguing that any delay to construction would imperil national security and expose the White House to damage. In other words, we got a big hole in our. In our side yard. We need to. We need to secure it, okay? Grasping for straws, Judge Leon says defendants call the construction site a coordinated and managed safety hazard that has disrupted existing security procedures. Thus, according to defendants, any construction delay will undermine national security. Thus, according to defendants, any construction delay will undermine national security. Judge then repeats please, exclamation mark. While I take seriously the government's concerns regarding the safety and security of the White House grounds and the President himself, the existence of a large hole, besides the White House is of course, a problem of the President's own making. Bald assertions of national security cannot excuse the government's failure to follow the law.

E (11:10)

Power.

D (11:10)

In footnote 20, based on my review, I did do not find any injunction halting construction would jeopardize national security. He then goes on page 34, I acknowledge that this case raises novel and weighty issues that halting an ongoing construction project may raise logistical issues. I will therefore delay enforcement for 14 days. I will also exclude construction necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House from the scope of the injunction. What he means is, and he clarifies it in footnote 21 the court gives fair notice to defendants that any above ground construction over the next 14 days that is not in compliance with my order is at risk, is at risk of being taken down. Build it at your own risk. You may be demolishing it. In his order, which Donald Trump fumbles by leaving out words because he apparently can't read, he says that the defendants are enjoined from taking any action on page two of the order in furtherance of the physical development of the proposed ballroom at the site of the former former site of the East Wing, including, but not limited to, any further demolition, site prep, landscape alteration, excavation, foundation work, or other construction or related work other than actions strictly necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House and its grounds, including the ballroom construction site, and provide for the personal safety of the President and his staff. That just means cover the hole. That just means to cover the hole. Put up walls down there if you have to. No vertical construction, above ground construction. Finish up what you've got. Busy days, big goals, but no time to cook I've been using Factor Fully prepared meals designed by dietitians and crafted by chefs so you can eat well without the planning or cooking. One of my favorites lately is the Garlic Herb Salmon. It fits perfectly into my February routine with lean protein, colorful vegetables, whole food ingredients and healthy fats, plus no refined sugars, no artificial sweeteners and no refined seed oils. Whether you're focused on healthier eating, calorie management or getting more protein, Factor makes it simple. They rotate over 100 meals every week, including High Protein Calorie smart Mediterranean diet, GLP1 support, ready to Eat salads and the new Muscle Pro Collection for strength and recovery. Everything is always fresh, never frozen, ready in about two minutes. No prep, no stress. I use this and you should too. Head to factor meals.com legalafe 50 off and use code legal af50OFF to get 50% off and free breakfast for a year. Eat like a pro this month with Factor New subscribers only. Varies by plan. One free breakfast item per box for one year while subscription is active. Now let me just give the part where Donald Trump has basically revealed, as you heard, all of the trade secrets that I'm sure our spies against this loved hearing on Air Force One just the other day he basically said the entire project is all about national security because somebody put it in his ear that if he talks more about national security, it'll Strengthen his hand. And basically has now declaimed that the big royal Golden Ballroom, you know, it's just perfect. On the arrival of King Charles, by the way, is really just a shed that he put over security operations that are now being built under the White House. Thanks for telling everybody where they are. Play that clip.

F (15:05)

We just got these in from the architects. A lot of people are talking about how beautiful the ballroom. For 150 years they wanted to build a ballroom at the White House. Here's another view. This is coming from right opposite the treasury building. Beautiful Capitol. Here's a view from on the south with the porch, which is a porch and it's also a fire stair basically leading down to the ground. Now the military is building a big complex under the ballroom, which has come out recently because of a stupid lawsuit that was filed. But the military is building a massive complex under the ballroom and that's under construction and we're doing very well. So we're ahead of schedule. That's part of it. And the ballroom essentially becomes a shed for what's being built under the military, including from drones and including from any other thing.

D (16:03)

Now, we have hardened facilities. We've always had hardened facilities. I'm not revealing state secrets. The piac, the President's Emergency Operations center and the Situation Room, which are hardened facilities, kind of like panic rooms for the President where he can go for hours or maybe a day or two, are directly under the White House. They've been there since the 1950s. I'm not sure how hardened they are, but they are under there to allow the President to run operations from a secure location within the White House. This apparently is what Donald Trump is extending into the foundational area underneath the ballroom. There's other. There's two other major Hardin sites in America that are well known. You can Google Earth them. One of them is the is in Mountain Weather Virginia. It's the Emergency Operations Center. It's a hardened facility and it's where all of civilian non Department of Defense personnel, including the White House, would go in an emergency. In Virginia, Mount Weather Emergency Operations center in Raven Rock on the Maryland, Pennsylvania border, there is. That's where the Department of Defense would operate. It's in a mountain hardened facility like a James Bond style. And that's where they would operate. So if you can operate for a few days, you do it at the White House, at the peoc, in the Sit Room. If things get really hairy, then the government decamps to Mount Weather Emergency Operations center in Virginia and the Department of Defense, the Pentagon goes to Raven Rock. I got all that. But I don't think you should be talking about design features, security features of the, of the new and improved piac, should you? I don't think so. And maybe somebody should explain to Donald Trump that he just lost, that he's not going to be able to continue with ballroom construction. That all that Judge Leon meant, obviously from the reading, a close reading of the order and the opinion is that you need to secure the site. You got an open hole. Okay, secure the site, cap it, secure it. Make sure that people can't tunnel their way in or lift up a tarp and go underneath and get into the White House. I get that part. But no construction, no vertical construction. Stop building the ballroom. It is red tagged. It's as if the judge was a glorified zoning enforcement officer for your, for your town and he just drove by and put a giant red tag the project. Now, this will be subject to an appeal. He's not going to stay his order, Judge Leon, because he already gave 14 days. Effectively he did stay his order. So now they're going to have to run as they have to the DC, the federal circuit court, the appellate court for DC's federal courts, which sits over district court judges like Judge Leon. There'll be a three judge panel. They'll decide whether they're going to do a stay or not. I'll report on it here on Midas Dutch. If they stay, they stay. If they don't, they don't. If they don't stay, Donald Trump will try to, I'm sure, lob a grenade into the United States Supreme Court on an emergency docket. Just what Don, Just what John Roberts, the Chief justice doesn't want to deal with and decide whether he's going to be able to continue to build this ballroom or not. Fundamentally, and this is up in our legal AF substack, fundamentally, the opinion stands for the proposition that the president. I'll read it to you for the first paragraph of the order. The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations. He is not the owner, exclamation mark. President Trump claims that he has given him, that the Congress has given him authority in existing statutes to construct the East Wing ballroom project and to do it with private funds. But the judge took a look at all those statutes and said at best it's for repair, it's for minor remediation, paint job. Even you knew that, Trump, when you put in a fence in 2019, you went through a whole approval process by Congress. And just because you're taking private money doesn't mean you're out from under Congress. And he demanded that Congress step forward and approve it or not approve it. Here's what he says in his final paragraph on 34, page 34. Judge Leon where does this leave us? Unfortunately for defendants, unless and until Congress blesses this project through a statutory authorization, construction has to stop, exclamation mark. But here is the good news. It's not too late for Congress to authorize it. The President may at any time go to Congress to obtain expressed authority and do so with private funds if you want. Indeed, Congress may even choose to appropriate funds for the ballroom or decide some other other funding scheme is acceptable. Either way, Congress will thereby retain its authority over the nation's property and its oversight over government spending. The national trust interests will be vindicated, and the American people will benefit from the branches of government exercising their constitutionally prescribed roles. And the judge ends it this way. Not a bad outcome, that Exclamation mark. I'm Michael Popak without the exclamation marks. Thanks for being here on Midas touch and Legal AF. Come over to Legal AF YouTube channel. Hit the Free subscribe button. Help us continue to grow our Pro Democracy channel until my next report. I'm Michael. Can't get your fill of Legal af. Me neither. That's why we form the Legal AF substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do called Wait for it Morning af. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AO are there as well. We got some new reporting, we got interviews, we got AD free versions of the podcast and hot takes where Legal AF on substack. Come over now to free subscribe.

G (22:03)

Quick break. One useful thing to share. I thought TikTok was just dances. Turns out it's where I learned how to save money, fix stuff and get real tips. Short videos, real people. Download TikTok now.