A federal judge said Friday she would open a “formal inquiry” to investigate if attorneys for the Trump administration violated ethical boundaries during a legal dispute about the golf course project in East Potomac Park.
The case puts a spotlight on underlying executive authority claims that lies beneath it — a glimpse into the uses of presidential power under Donald Trump.
The Justice Department made a stunning admission: They said the plans to close East Potomac Park had in fact been in the works for several weeks, even though they previously said there was no plan.
The judge stopped short of directly accusing the Trump administration of lying but said she would open the probe.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes’ declaration that the court would appoint a “special master” into whether agency officials, and Justice Department attorneys had made misrepresentations in the court is a far cry from her relationship with the government until this month. She had rejected numerous motions from the plaintiffs to step in, saying she trusted the government attorneys.
The hearing on the golf course change began as other recent ones have: Reyes grilled Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. over how Trump’s desires to turn the golf course, near the National Mall, into a world-class facility have become urgent plans that match his public pronouncements.
Reyes stopped the hearing several times and adjourned to her chambers to check previous transcripts of the trial as she questioned Woodward. Among things she wants examined: Was a National Park Service official told to exclude details in a court declaration? Did witnesses offer misleading testimony about the extent of plans in place for the course’s closure and renovation?
At one point, Reyes read the code of conduct to government attorneys on presenting erroneous or false information during a hearing.
The judge challenged the third-ranking DOJ lawyer on the president’s Truth Social announcements regarding the start of the renovation and the government’s claim that a sea wall needs to be constructed in the park area for safety reasons. The DOJ lawyer said it would keep people from falling into the Potomac River.
The judge expressed strong skepticism, asking him if he had been to the park and if people would leap into the river. He responded that he had played golf there.
Reyes also said she finds it highly unlikely that a contract has not been signed with well-known golf course designer Tom Fazio, who visited the course with Trump, holding what appeared to be detailed plans.
At one point, as they talked about plans that Woodward said only came about this week, he slipped and included tree cutting as part of the preparation for the closure.
Reyes responded immediately: “News flash.” She allowed him to correct himself that the tree cutting, which occurred earlier this month, was not part of the plan to close the East Potomac Golf Links.
At a previous seven-hour hearing, after which she ordered no more trees to be cut without notifying the court, Reyes said she has been getting death threats by voicemail and email over the golf course. She commented that that is surely not what the founders intended.
She strongly criticized the administration for cutting down the trees and questioned their claim that the trees were removed to comply with a long-dormant beautification plan, not to build the new golf course. Trump has strongly criticized the judge in online posts.
At issue in the hearing, in part, is whether Reyes will order the attorneys not to start construction on Nov. 15, and if so, how the administration will respond regarding an appeal.
The golf course proposal is being submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission for approval later Friday. The government is telling the court there is no budget for the project, a claim she has questioned given how far along the project is for final approval.
Trump calls beloved DC golf course ‘highly dangerous, dilapidated, and absolutely disgusting’
At a recent hearing, Reyes tried to get to the bottom of what the government plans to do and when. Trump has said he wants to close the park Nov. 15 so renovations can begin. But until recently, government lawyers argued in court that there were no immediate plans to do so.
The lawyers’ stance changed this week, when the Justice Department issued a court filing acknowledging that it plans to submit its plans to the National Capital Planning Commission and that it plans to close the park on Nov. 15, “consistent with the President’s directive.”
The plaintiffs challenging the project claim the work is inflicting irreversible damage. Critics say Trump’s plan will make playing there unaffordable for the general public and destroy the site’s other uses.
In a Wednesday night posting on Truth Social, Trump called the golf course “highly dangerous, dilapidated, and absolutely disgusting.” He added that Reyes would be held responsible for anyone injured or killed at the course.
“No one will be more thrilled by our plans to renovate the Course and Driving Range than the Local Golfers who have played there for years, and have begged to have their Home Course brought into pristine condition,” he wrote.
The course renovation project is part of Trump’s aggressive campaign to leave his personal imprint on Washington’s historic landscape.
