Trump DOJ's 'ludicrous' bid to save White House UFC fight torched by expert
The Trump administration's legal arguments for why federal courts should not interfere in the controversial UFC fight set to take place on the White House lawn were derided as ridiculous by former White House ethics lawyer Norm Eisen on MS NOW's "Deadline: White House" Wednesday.
The match, part of Trump's series of events ostensibly celebrating America's 250th anniversary, has come under fire as an event that Trump has a personal financial stake in and stands to profit massively from. Veterans in Washington, D.C. are currently suing to stop it.
Anchor Nicolle Wallace cited the key argument from Justice Department lawyers that "final weight cutting is already underway" for 14 fighters, and a delay "could jeopardize the health of the 14 professional athletes involved in the event."
Eisen wasn't having it.
"First of all, the arguments that they're making are so ludicrous," said Eisen, who also worked on Trump impeachment litigation. "Why is the United States Department of Justice making arguments about these fighters? Would they be healthier if, after losing all that weight, they didn't get into that ring?"
Ultimately, he said, the arena being erected next to the White House is "a symbol of the way he's defaced Washington, D.C. It's like a graffiti artist run amok in our city," similar to Trump illegally putting his name on the Kennedy Center. "The ring has to come down the same way."
"Donald Trump is in a steel cage match with the American people," Eisen added. "He is battering them in the pocketbook because, as you pointed out, this stuff is not free. When he does his $1.8 billion slush fund, it comes out of all of our pockets. It's the same with all of these outrageous projects, and I think the people are sick of it."
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