CNN Legal Chief Torpedoes Anti-Trump UFC Case — Mocks Claim of ‘Aesthetic Injury’

CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig told CNN anchor Jake Tapper the lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s UFC fight is “unlikely” to succeed and derided the plaintiffs’ claim.

The Trump-backed “Freedom 250” organization is putting on a UFC fight this month, for which a 5,000-capacity arena is being constructed on the South Lawn of the White House. Trump dropped a post last week trolling critics by floating the idea of making the arena permanent — but Americans overwhelmingly oppose the venue.

Two Virginia plaintiffs took that opposition into the courtroom with a lawsuit seeking to block the fight and the arena.

On Tuesday’s edition of CNN’s The Lead, Honig torpedoed the case and pointedly dismissed the plaintiffs’ claim of aesthetic injury — “whatever that is”:

TAPPER: And we’re back with the Law and Justice Lead, a live look outside the White House. We’re standing by to hear how the Trump administration is going to respond to a lawsuit trying to stop Sunday’s UFC fight on the South Lawn. Let’s bring in CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig. He’s also a former federal prosecutor.

Elie, this lawsuit is from something called the Public Integrity Project on behalf of a Vietnam War veteran, a civic activist. The lawsuit argues that the claw, as it’s called, was put up on the White House grounds without congressional approval or an environmental review. Is this a case at all? Could this actually stop the weekend’s event?

HONIG: Jake I think this is unlikely to succeed because there’s two foundational problems. The first one is standing. Now, standing means not anyone can sue over anything. You have to be able to show that you will suffer direct, concrete injury.

And if you look at the lawsuit in this case, the plaintiffs are really two private citizens, and they say, well, we like to walk around that area. We enjoy the aesthetics, we enjoy the history. And if this — if this event goes on, we will suffer, quote, aesthetic injury and, quote, procedural injury, whatever that is. I think that’s a stretch when it comes to standing. If you look at the case law.

The second problem is the timing. There’s a general principle in the law that says if you have a case to bring you cannot sit on it, wait to the last minute to try to disadvantage the other side. Now here, this UFC event has been public for months, but the lawsuit didn’t land until this past weekend, one week before the UFC event. So I think both of those are going to be problems. It’s not impossible that it wins, but I think it’s unlikely.

TAPPER: The fight’s less than a week away. It’s not involving just White House grounds, of course. Equipment is going up right now for a weigh in set for Friday night at the Lincoln Memorial. Exactly what arguments are the plaintiffs making here?

HONIG: So the first argument is if you’re going to build a structure on the White House lawn that has to be authorized by Congress. You see the structure right there? I think the response we’ll hear from the administration is as big as this is, they will say it’s temporary and we don’t need Congress if we’re going to, for example, put up a stage for a concert.

The other argument is procedural. The plaintiffs say, well, this did not comply with all the regulations and permitting, and it did not have an environmental assessment. But I think the response again, we’ll see later tonight from the administration is there’s a special rule passed by the National Park Service for the 250th that really suspends a lot of those regulatory requirements. So again, the judge will only get to those questions if he first finds

that they’re standing and that this lawsuit is not too late.

TAPPER: Do you see this case resolved by Sunday, by the, by the time of the match?

HONIG: It’s got to be. I mean, I’ve never seen such a lightning schedule. But right now within the district court, the trial court level, the Judge Mehta has set a very strict briefing date. He’s going to have to decide within the next couple of days. And I promise you, certainly if the administration loses, they are ready to go up to the court of appeals and maybe the Supreme Court.

But Jake, that kind of thing is going to happen in a matter of not just days, but hours towards the latter part of this week with that event looming so close.

Watch above via CNN’s The Lead.

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