Judge opens formal probe into DOJ lawyers over golf course claims
District Judge Ana Reyes launched an investigation after government attorneys admitted to a renovation plan they previously said was not final.
By James Mitchell ·
Federal courts in Washington, D.C., have become the center of a legal dispute over the future of East Potomac Park. The fight centers on whether the Trump administration is using a crumbling seawall as a reason to close the park and build a championship golf course.
District Judge Ana Reyes ordered a formal inquiry on Friday. She wants to know if Justice Department officials misled the court. The investigation will look at whether lawyers knowingly made false statements or failed to correct them.
The dispute began in February when local preservation groups and golfers filed suit. For months, government lawyers told the court that a final renovation plan did not exist. They said this even after President Trump posted on social media that the park would close in November.
That stance changed on Wednesday night. Government lawyers filed a document confirming a plan to close the park. They stated the National Park Service would submit a design to the National Capital Planning Commission on Friday. The plan involves a course designed by Tom Fazio. The government also said it signed a new lease with the National Links Trust, the nonprofit that runs the golf course. Under that lease, operations at East Potomac will stop by November 15.
Judge Reyes questioned Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. for four hours on Friday. She asked him to explain the shift in the government's position. Woodward said the submission to the planning commission had been in the works for several weeks. He added that his team had not read every transcript in the case. Reyes asked if he had anything to correct. He said not to his knowledge. Reyes replied, 'I bet you do.'
The judge noted that the government had argued the park closure was necessary to fix a deteriorating seawall. Acting National Park Service Director Jessica Bowron declared the seawalls were compromised. She said large sections of sidewalk are underwater twice daily. Woodward estimated the seawall repairs would cost between $150 million and $400 million. He did not provide a cost estimate for the golf course renovations.
Reyes ordered the government to preserve all relevant documents for the inquiry. She said the investigation does not mean the court has found misconduct yet. She described the move as necessary because the administration had not been consistent in its claims. She said the court trusted the government for months but would now verify its statements.
The government appealed Reyes' recent orders halting tree clearing. It also asked for 10 days' written notice before closing the park. Rep. Jared Huffman sent a letter to congressional leaders on Thursday. He asked them to block funding for the seawall project in year-end spending bills. He argued that taxpayers should not pay for the most expensive maintenance only for the land to be turned into a golf course.
