The confidential contract with Clark Construction, along with related correspondence and records obtained by The Post, reveal for the first time how the Trump administration bypassed norms last summer as it set the ballroom project in motion.

Records also show that President Donald Trump was directly involved in negotiating some costs for the East Wing project.

The East Wing contract is the latest example of the administration turning to no-bid deals to hasten a Trump-style makeover of the nation’s capital, which has included handpicking firms....