WASHINGTON — A federal judge announced Friday that she will open a formal misconduct inquiry to determine whether Justice Department attorneys and Trump administration officials misled the court regarding plans to overhaul a historic public golf course in the nation’s capital.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said during a contentious four-hour hearing that she intends to appoint an independent special master to assist her in examining whether government attorneys made false statements or breached professional ethics rules during litigation over East Potomac Park. The inquiry marks a sharp escalation in a lawsuit filed in February by local golfers and the D.C. Preservation League, who are challenging White House efforts to redevelop the municipal facility, CBS News reported.
Sharp clashes over shifting explanations
For months, attorneys representing the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service insisted to Reyes that no final plans existed to redesign the East Potomac course, despite repeated social media declarations from President Donald Trump asserting that major renovations would shutter the venue. That stance reversed Wednesday night when Justice Department lawyers acknowledged in court filings that the facility and surrounding park areas would indeed shut down around mid-November to build a championship venue and repair a failing seawall, according to NPR.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr., the Justice Department’s third-ranking official, faced extensive questioning Friday from Reyes regarding the discrepancy. The judge cited legal ethics rules barring attorneys from knowingly offering false assertions or failing to rectify erroneous statements.
When Reyes asked Woodward if any previous representations needed correction, Woodward said, “Not to my knowledge,” citing voluminous case files. During questioning, Woodward acknowledged that an application detailing golf course designs by architect Tom Fazio had been drafted over several weeks before being submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission on Friday, NPR reported.
“Am I to understand that for weeks someone has been putting pen to paper on a submission to design the golf course … while this litigation was ongoing, while Department of Justice employees were representing to me that there was no plan?” Reyes asked from the bench.
Scope of the investigation
Reyes emphasized that establishing the inquiry does not constitute a formal finding of wrongdoing, CBS News reported. However, she ordered government agencies to retain all relevant records to prevent evidence loss.
According to CBS News and BBC News, the inquiry will examine several key areas:
- Whether government lawyers filed short-notice disclosures in bad faith when hundreds of mature trees were cut down earlier this month on less than a day’s notice.
- Whether officials instructed acting National Park Service Director Jessica Bowron to omit details about renovation proposals from her court declaration.
- Whether lawyers directed National Mall and Memorial Parks Superintendent Kevin Griess to include specific budgetary information in sworn filings.
- Whether Justice Department attorneys made misrepresentations about project timelines and the existence of finalized closure plans.
“Trial lawyers sometimes tell juries, ‘Trust but verify,'” Reyes said during the hearing, according to NPR. “For months, the court trusted, but did not verify. No longer.”
Park closure and funding disputes
Government lawyers stated that the pending closure would affect land south of Buckeye Drive to address severe structural deterioration along the park’s century-old seawall, which Woodward estimated would require $150 million to $400 million to repair. Acting park director Bowron stated in court documents that parts of the pedestrian pathway submerge twice daily during high tides, damaging shoreline roots and creating hazardous ground cavities, NPR reported.
Earlier this week, Reyes extended an injunction prohibiting additional tree removal and mandating 10 days of written notice prior to any irreversible park alterations — an order the administration promptly appealed, according to NPR. The nonprofit National Links Trust confirmed it signed an amended agreement to halt its East Potomac operations by Nov. 15, while continuing management of the city’s two other municipal courses.
The Justice Department has five days to register any objections to the selection of a special master. Reyes warned that if the government rejects the appointment of an outside arbiter, she will carry out the investigation herself.
