Fond memories of attending John F. Kennedy Center performances, including watching Bolshoi Opera in 1975, with the late John Thomas Lindsay, my best friend from high school; watching the late Hal Holbrook in "Mark Twain Tonight, with a cool girl named Chris from Santa Clara University in California (a fellow undergraduate intern from Senator Ted Kennedy's office), seated in a fancy box overlooking the stage, courtesy of the late Melody Miller, later EMK's Chief of Staff; and listening to cool classical music, with the incomparable late David Brian Wallace. I will not go back to the Kennedy Center until the illegal "DONALD J. TRUMP" nomenclature is removed, a rank obscenity. From Politico;
Senator Whitehouse details Dems’ Kennedy Center probe: ‘Their first instinct was to loot it’
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) said he believes the Trump administration is trying to “loot” the Kennedy Center.
In November, Whitehouse launched a probe into allegations of cronyism and corruption at the performing arts center under interim President Richard Grenell, who was appointed by President Trump in February.
The Rhode Island Democrat told The Guardian that when the administration took control of the center, its “first instinct was to loot it for their own benefit and hire their friends and put people up in fancy rooms at the Watergate and let favored organizations get free access and it was all part of a MAGA party atmosphere.”
The president has established a firm grip on the venue since returning to office. He removed members of its board in February, naming himself the chair. Last month, the board voted to add Trump’s name to the building.
The name change sparked concern among Democrats in Congress and the Kennedy family and led to a string of cancellations from artists set to perform at the center.
Whitehouse, the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, sent a letter to Grenell when opening his inquiry into the center.
An ex officio member of the center’s board, the senator provided documents that allegedly show the institution funneled contracts to Trump allies and spent “tens of thousands” of dollars on luxury hotel rooms, lavish meals and entertainment for friends and new staff.
He told Grenell in the letter that his actions as interim president “display a profound disregard for fiduciary responsibility, established financial controls, and the governance of the Kennedy Center.”
Grenell responded that same day, saying Whitehouse’s letter “is filled with partisan attacks and false accusations.”
He added that during his time in charge of the center, he has balanced its budget after years of “financial chaos.”
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