Inset: U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes during her confirmation hearing in June 2022 (Sen. Dick Durbin/YouTube). Background: President Donald Trump uses scissors to cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony for Trump International Golf Links near Aberdeen, Scotland, on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 (AP Photo/Alastair Grant).
A Washington, D.C., judge says she intends to appoint a special master to examine whether attorneys representing the Trump administration “have committed ethical violations” in litigation involving President Donald Trump’s plans to build at a federal district park and golf course.
In an order issued Nov. 7, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, a Biden appointee, notified lawyers from the U.S. Departments of Justice and the Interior that the special master’s review would cover their conduct through Halloween.
“The Court gives Notice of its intent to appoint former United States Attorney Jessie K. Liu as the Special Master,” Reyes wrote. “Ms. Liu served as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 2017 to 2020, the same office in which she previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney.”
Several days before the final plan was filed on the docket, the government submitted a notice of its intention to close the park on Nov. 15, consistent with the requirements of the existing preliminary injunction.
Government attorneys could soon have another official scrutinizing their conduct.
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The court’s order detailed Liu’s professional background:
In addition, she has held senior positions at the Justice Department. These include deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division; counsel to the deputy attorney general on national security issues; and deputy chief of staff for the National Security Division. Ms. Liu also served as deputy general counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In addition, Ms. Liu has been a partner at several international law firms. She is currently a partner at Liu Shur Kravis LLP.
However, Liu’s appointment has not yet been finalized.
The parties have until Nov. 13 to submit motions concerning the proposed special master.
“Any response by the Government will be without prejudice to its argument, if any, that the court should not conduct an ethics inquiry,” the order states. “If the Court appoints Ms. Liu, it will enter a detailed order doing so.”
The post “An ethics inquiry”: Judge in golf course case names proposed special master to assess whether DOJ or other Trump administration officials lied and “committed ethical violations” first appeared on Law & Crime.
