Washington — A federal judge said Friday that she is launching an inquiry into whether government officials and attorneys misled the court or breached professional ethics rules during proceedings over President Trump’s proposal to renovate a historic golf course in Washington, D.C.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said at a hearing that she will oversee the inquiry with help from a special master, an independent neutral appointed to assist the court. The examination will focus on whether officials and lawyers from the Departments of Justice and the Interior engaged in misconduct.
Among the issues Reyes plans to review is whether the government acted in bad faith when it notified her court that trees would be removed from East Potomac Golf Links. Justice Department attorneys informed the court of the planned removal only hours before crews began cutting down hundreds of trees at the course earlier this month.
Reyes will also investigate whether government lawyers directed Jessica Bowron, the acting director of the National Park Service, to leave out information from a declaration concerning possible plans to transform the golf course. She will examine as well whether attorneys instructed Kevin Griess, superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks, to add specific information about available budget resources to a separate declaration.
The inquiry will further consider statements made by Justice Department lawyers about the proposed East Potomac Golf Links renovation. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward told the court Wednesday that the Trump administration intended to close all of East Potomac Park — including the golf course, an adjacent roadway and a recreation area — by Nov. 15.
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Woodward also submitted a rendering of the proposed new course, designed by golf architect Tom Fazio, to the National Capital Planning Commission on Friday.
Reyes has not yet selected the special master. She gave the Justice Department five days to object to her decision to appoint one.
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The judge emphasized that her action does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing. She said the court is conducting an inquiry to determine whether misconduct occurred.
Reyes is presiding over a lawsuit filed by a local preservation group and two area golfers who are challenging the Trump administration’s plans to overhaul East Potomac, a public course that has operated in Washington since the 1920s.
Interior Department officials and Justice Department lawyers have repeatedly told Reyes that no final plan for the course exists, including statements made as recently as this month. However, Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social on Oct. 18 that the Interior Department and Fazio had “developed a plan to build a World Class Championship Golf Course on the site.”
The president said construction of the replacement course would begin Nov. 15, when East Potomac is scheduled to close. He reiterated Monday that his administration was “closing the East Potomac Golf Course Site as scheduled on November 15th in order to renovate and rebuild for Competitive (with other such projects!), Safety, Modernization, and Aesthetic reasons.”
Woodward told the court Wednesday that the Interior Department was developing a plan to close the golf course next month.
At Friday’s hearing, Reyes repeatedly questioned Woodward about Mr. Trump’s statements and pressed him on what he knew about the plan to shut down the course. Earlier in the week, she issued an order providing longer-term relief that bars the Trump administration from removing trees at East Potomac Golf Course while the lawsuit over its future proceeds.
