Judge opens inquiry into Justice Department lawyers in Trump golf course case
Judge Ana Reyes will examine whether government lawyers and officials misled her about plans to close and renovate East Potomac Golf Links.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
A federal judge in Washington has opened a Justice Department golf course inquiry into whether government lawyers and other Trump administration officials misled the court about plans to renovate and close East Potomac Golf Links. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said Friday that the examination will consider possible misrepresentations and ethical-rule violations; it is not a finding that anyone acted improperly.
The inquiry is part of a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s proposed overhaul of the public course and surrounding East Potomac Park. The DC Preservation League brought the case in February, arguing that redevelopment could violate environmental protections and harm a historic public space, Reuters and Al Jazeera reported.
Why did Judge Reyes open the golf course inquiry?
Reyes focused on conflicting accounts of the project’s status. Justice Department lawyers had told the court no final plan existed, while Trump publicly said the course would close on November 15 for renovation and rebuilding, according to Reuters, NPR and CBS News.
The government later told the court that it planned to close the course and much of the surrounding park in mid-November. It also said it would submit a renovation design by golf-course architect Tom Fazio to the National Capital Planning Commission, NPR and Al Jazeera reported. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. told Reyes that work on that submission had been under way for weeks, NPR reported.
At Friday’s hearing, Reyes questioned Woodward about what the government knew of the planned closure and renovation. She said the review would examine whether agency officials, agency lawyers and Justice Department attorneys made misleading statements or failed to provide relevant information to the court, NPR reported.
Have the Justice Department lawyers been found to have broken ethics rules?
No. Reyes stressed that opening the inquiry does not mean the court has determined that any lawyer or official violated a professional obligation, NPR and CBS News reported. The proceeding is meant to determine whether there is evidence of misconduct or a breach of applicable ethical rules.
Reyes said a special master could assist the inquiry, according to NPR. CBS News reported that she had not yet selected one and gave the Justice Department five days to object to the appointment. Reuters reported that Reyes also ordered the preservation of relevant documents.
The dispute has intensified since October, when hundreds of trees were removed from the site. Reyes had previously required advance notice of substantive construction work, Reuters reported. After the tree removal, she temporarily barred further tree clearing, and later restrictions prevented additional irreversible changes while the litigation continues, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera.
The case concerns both the planned redesign of the golf course and the government’s disclosures to the court about it. The inquiry will address the latter question separately from the underlying challenge to the renovation.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.