Judge opens a formal inquiry
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes announced at a Friday hearing that she will examine whether government officials and attorneys gave the court false or misleading information and broke professional ethics rules. The matter arises from litigation over President Trump's plans to rebuild a historic public golf course in Washington, D.C., according to CBS News.
Reyes said she will lead the inquiry herself and will be assisted by a special master, a neutral figure who helps a court gather and assess facts. The review will focus on lawyers and officials at the Justice and Interior departments.
The judge emphasized that nothing has been found against anyone. She described the process as an inquiry into whether misconduct occurred, not a conclusion that it did.
What the judge plans to examine
One question is whether a notice sent to the court about upcoming tree removals at East Potomac Golf Links was filed in bad faith. Justice Department lawyers alerted the court shortly before crews started cutting down hundreds of trees at the site earlier this month, CBS News reported.
Reyes will also look at two sworn declarations. In the first, she will consider whether government lawyers told Jessica Bowron, the acting director of the National Park Service, to leave out certain details about possible plans to overhaul the course. In the second, she will ask whether lawyers directed Kevin Griess, superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks, to add particular information about budget resources.
A further area of scrutiny involves what Justice Department attorneys have said about the renovation itself.
Conflicting accounts of the plan
The case was brought by a local preservation group and two area golfers who are challenging the administration's effort to remake East Potomac, a public course that has been in operation in the nation's capital since the 1920s.
According to CBS News, Interior officials and Justice Department lawyers have repeatedly told Reyes that no final plan for the course exists, including earlier this month. Yet on Oct. 18, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Interior and golf course architect Tom Fazio had "developed a plan to build a World Class Championship Golf Course on the site." He said construction would begin Nov. 15, when East Potomac would shut down.
On Monday, the president again said his administration is "closing the East Potomac Golf Course Site as scheduled on November 15th," citing competitiveness, safety, modernization and aesthetics.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward told the court Wednesday that the administration intends to close all of East Potomac Park by Nov. 15. That area includes the golf course, a surrounding road and a recreation area. He also gave the court a rendering of the new Fazio-designed course, which was sent to the National Capital Planning Commission on Friday. Woodward said Interior is developing a plan to close the course next month.
What happens next
Reyes has not yet picked a special master. She gave the Justice Department five days to object to her plan to appoint one.
At Friday's hearing, the judge repeatedly questioned Woodward about the president's public statements and about what he knew regarding the effort to close the course. Earlier in the week, she issued longer-lasting relief that bars the administration from cutting down trees at the course while the lawsuit over its future continues.
