DOJ cites Washington dinner shooting in lawsuit over White House ballroom

DOJ cites Washington dinner shooting in lawsuit over White House ballroom56 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleBernd Debusmann JrWhite House reporter Getty ImagesWork has continued on the White House ballroom, even after a judge ordered above ground construction be paused. The US Department of Justice has asked a judge to lift a pause on work to Donald Trump's new White House ballroom, citing the shooting at the White House Correspondent's Dinner this weekend. A federal judge had issued a halt on ground construction after preservationists filed a lawsuit to stop the $400m (£296m) project from going forward. Trump has long argued that the ballroom would be a safer venue for presidential events - calls that were amplified following Saturday's shooting at the crowded Washington Hilton. The National Trust for Historic Preservation said on Monday it has no intention of dropping its lawsuit.The trust's lawsuit argued that President Trump did not have the property authority to begin the project - on the former site of the White House's East Wing - without approvals by Congress and federal agencies. Initially, Trump had said the project would be "near" the existing structure of the East Wing, which was constructed in 1902, but would not change it. Those plans changed and in October, the East Wing was demolished to make way for the new structure.In a court filing made on Monday night as part of the lawsuit, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and other officials argued that the additional safety measures planned in the new ballroom warrants lifting a pause ordered by a federal judge earlier this month."Presidents need a secure space for large events that currently do not exist in Washington," the court filing reads."This court's injunction stalling this project cannot defensibly continue, for the sake of President Trump, future presidents and their families, Cabinets and staff."The court filing also at t...