Trump Administration Calls July 8 Turkey Flight Missile Threat Assassination Attempt in Supreme Court Appeal
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 14
Trump Administration Calls July 8 Turkey Flight Missile Threat Assassination Attempt in Supreme Court Appeal
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 14
Summary
An Aug. 14 Supreme Court filing formally described the missile threat against Trump’s July 8 flight from Turkey as an assassination attempt, elevating an episode that had previously been discussed only in vague terms.
Solicitor General John Sauer used that threat to argue the justices should lift a lower-court block on a new White House ballroom, saying the project is needed to expand presidential security.
The filing says the ballroom complex would include bomb shelters, a hospital and classified military facilities underground; Trump had already switched planes after the Turkey trip and secretly departed in a catering truck.
Judge Richard Leon blocked only aboveground ballroom construction in March for lack of explicit congressional authorization, and the D.C. Circuit upheld that ruling in August while allowing underground security work to continue.