Trump Reportedly Blew Off Safety Codes in White House Ballroom Construction: ‘I Am the Code’

Kathianne Boniello

Sep 23rd, 2026, 8:19 am

President Donald Trump allegedly scoffed at fire and safety code issues in the early stages of the White House ballroom project.

Sources told The Washington Post the first architect to tackle the job, James McCrery II, stepped down in October after repeatedly pointing out that Trump’s early designs for the project were problematic.

Trump, who would regularly mark up images and plans for the controversial space with a black Sharpie, wanted designs that skimped on required emergency exits and didn’t have proper fire safety measures, according to the report.

When the fire and safety code issues were pointed out, the president allegedly had only one thing to say.

“I am the code,” Trump said, according to the report.

The $400 million ballroom project has sparked controversy and legal back-and-forth for months, with Trump repeatedly declaring the space is needed for security reasons.

The president demolished the historic East Wing and began work on the ballroom without required approvals from Congress.

Overseeing the project is the little-known Executive Residence, an office that’s not required to follow federal rules, according to the report.

The question of fire and safety codes lingered for months, The Post reported:

Discussions about the life-safety deficiencies in the ballroom’s design continued for months after McCrery resigned, according to White House records. It is not clear from the records reviewed by The Post whether the safety issues he identified have been resolved in more recent designs by Shalom Baranes Associates, the architecture firm that replaced McCrery’s firm late last year.

Shalom Baranes Associates declined to comment.

The White House said in a statement that McCrery’s exit from the project had nothing to do with the fire and safety code issue and insisted all such questions “have been addressed and resolved continuously as the design has evolved.”

“McCrery was a valued member of the initial design team of the East Wing Modernization Project,” according to the statement.

“The decision was made to move in another direction for the second phase of the project and we continue to make tremendous strides in realizing the goal of providing a world class military and functional facility for future Presidents to utilize.”

McCrery initially declined to comment but later provided The Post with a statement.

“President Trump entrusted me with the earliest stages of the new ballroom design,” the statement said. “I am truly grateful for that honor and for the rich experience of working for him alongside all the highly talented and committed patriots at the Executive Mansion. Having completed the earliest designs, I stepped aside and a new firm was engaged.”

(Wow that’s a code for the code anons! Decode time)

(https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/trump-reportedly-blew-off-safety-codes-in-white-house-ballroom-construction-i-am-the-code/

EU court strikes down sanctions extension against former Russian senator

Evidence used by Brussels to justify the continued sanctioning of Oleg Tkach was insufficient, the bloc’ General Court has ruled

Published 23 Sep, 2026 16:0

The EU has failed to provide sufficient evidence to keep a former Russian official on its sanctions blacklist, the bloc’s General Court ruled on Wednesday. The decision came a day after the EU removed two Russian businessmen from the list as part of a deal to extend restrictions on thousands of others.

The court annulled the September 2024 and September 2025 extensions of sanctions against former Russian Senator Oleg Tkach, who represented Kaliningrad Region in the Federation Council from 2004 to 2022. He was also involved in publishing, founding and chairing Olma Media Group.

The EU first sanctioned Tkach in March 2022 over his vote to ratify treaties with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which later became part of Russia following referendums rejected by Ukraine and most Western countries. The case centered on whether the EU Council had grounds to keep extending the restrictions after Tkach left office.

According to Wednesday’s ruling, the Council failed to demonstrate that Tkach retained close ties to Russian authorities. The court also found that his failure to publicly oppose Russia’s military operation in Ukraine did not, by itself, constitute continued support for the authorities.

Brussels had also cited Tkach’s publishing background, including his links to Olma Media Group and textbook publisher Prosveshcheniye. However, the court found the evidence insufficient to establish his current role or influence at the companies.

The ruling does not affect the EU’s most recent sanctions extension from March 2026, which Tkach is challenging separately. He argues that condemnation based on his former Senate position is outdated and that the Council’s evidence is unreliable and lacks a “sound factual basis.”He has also argued that the measures are disproportionate.

A day before Wednesday’s ruling, the EU agreed to remove Russian businessmen Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions list. Both had previously mounted legal challenges related to EU restrictions, while Fridman has also filed a multibillion-dollar arbitration claim against Luxembourg.

Their removal came as part of a compromise to renew sanctions against around 3,000 other individuals and entities for three years, until September 2029, replacing the bloc’s usual six-month renewal cycle.

https://www.rt.com/russia/646142-eu-sanctions-russian-offiical/

Baltic states try secret dip into EU defense purse – media

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania hope to receive an extra €500 million for military drones, a Finnish newspaper has reported

Published 23 Sep, 2026 12:38

The Baltic states have secretly asked the European Commission for hundreds of millions of euros to boost their defense against drones, citing an alleged Russian threat, the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti has reported.

Moscow has repeatedly rejected claims that it has aggressive designs against Europe, saying that they are only made by Western politicians to scare the population at home and justify growing military spending. It maintains that a conflict is only possible if NATO members attack Russia.

Iltalehti said on Tuesday, citing foreign policy and security sources, that the defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had sent a letter to EU chief Ursula von der Leyen the previous day, asking Brussels to urgently provide them with €500 million (around $570 million). There has been no public announcement about the request being made, it added.

The minister claimed that the funds are needed due to the possibility of Russia trying to test NATO’s resolve by carrying out drone strikes against the bloc’s eastern flank, the report read.

Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius expect a positive response from von der Leyen in a matter of weeks, with the money arriving by the end of the year, according to the sources.

Last week, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Russia could fire drones or missiles into NATO countries backing Ukraine in “the next few months.” Despite Tusk providing no proof to his claim, French President Emmanuel Macron described it as “sound and well-documented.”

On Tuesday, Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius told the BBC that his country feels “constantly threatened” by Russia because of drones entering its airspace.

Since spring, there have been a number of incidents of Ukrainian UAVs crossing into Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia or crashing in their territory as Kiev has intensified its long-range attacks on energy infrastructure in Leningrad Region in northwestern Russia.

The Baltic states claimed that the incursions happened because of the UAVs being diverted off course by Russian electronic warfare equipment. Moscow has warned Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius that it could act in accordance with its right to self-defense if it turns out that the three countries are knowingly providing their airspace to the Ukrainian military.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics claimed in an interview with the Kiev Independent the same day that his country is facing an “alarming” period due to possible Russian interference in the wake of an election on October 3.

On Wednesday, high-ranking Estonian Foreign Ministry official Jonatan Vseviov said that warnings of an alleged Russian attack on the Baltic states were “blown out of proportion.” According to Vseviov, Moscow “ultimately seeks… to change the entire European security architecture,” but it’s currently fully focused on the Ukraine conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that “some European leaders are openly declaring that they are preparing for war with Russia” in an attempt to “cover up mistakes in their economic and social policies.”

“Instead of stopping and listening to their citizens, who have made it clear during the elections that they don’t want any war with Russia, these leaders continue to escalate the situation,” Putin stressed.

https://www.rt.com/news/646136-estonia-latvia-lithuania-eu/