A federal judge in Washington has ordered an investigation into whether officials from the Trump administration and the Department of Justice misled the court regarding plans to close and redesign the East Potomac Golf Links. The inquiry marks an escalation in a contentious legal dispute over President Donald Trump’s efforts to replace the municipal golf course with a larger, professional-grade facility.
U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, appointed by President Joseph R. Biden Jr., took the step Friday by appointing a special master to examine whether Interior Department and Justice Department officials withheld information, made misrepresentations, or violated ethical rules in the case. The judge’s decision came amid growing frustration with what she described as inconsistent statements and late disclosures by government lawyers.
The conflict centers on contradictory claims about the status and timing of a redevelopment plan for East Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. Trump announced on Oct. 18 via social media that the course would close on Nov. 15 to begin a roughly 14-month renovation. He also referenced a design by renowned golf architect Tom Fazio and a directive from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to move forward with the project.
Despite this public announcement, government lawyers told the court the following day that no final plan to close the course was in place and insisted that the officials involved had limited knowledge of any concrete timeline. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr., the Department of Justice’s third-ranking official, testified in court and maintained that the administration’s planning was in early stages and that he considered Trump’s social media post a directive rather than a finalized decision.
The lawsuit was originally filed by a preservationist group and local residents seeking to block the replacement of the existing municipal course. For months, Judge Reyes allowed the government to proceed without intervention, requiring only notification if redevelopment efforts began. However, the situation intensified after the Interior Department cleared more than 400 trees at the park in late October, describing the activity as routine maintenance to remove dead and diseased trees. The plaintiffs viewed the tree cutting as the first step toward the redevelopment, prompting the judge to issue a preliminary injunction halting further tree removal pending court approval.
Judge Reyes expressed skepticism about the government’s explanation for the tree clearing, calling it “pretextual” and questioned whether the removal was designed to evade judicial review. She also raised concerns over the government’s delayed submission of golf course renderings to the National Capital Planning Commission and the accuracy of budget-related claims.
The inquiry will investigate whether senior officials from the Interior Department and the National Park Service were fully informed of or directly involved in the redevelopment plans, as government lawyers have claimed limited internal awareness. Additionally, the inquiry will assess whether Justice Department lawyers intentionally provided misleading information to the court.
The Justice Department has appealed the injunction halting tree removal and requested a stay of that order while the appeal proceeds. The legal dispute has become highly charged, with Justice Department attorneys requesting Judge Reyes’s recusal on grounds of alleged bias—a motion she denied. President Trump has publicly criticized the judge, calling her a “crazed lunatic.”
The special master appointed by Judge Reyes will have authority to review documents, take testimony, and conduct hearings to uncover the facts surrounding the administration’s handling of the East Potomac Golf Links redevelopment. If no special master is appointed, the judge has indicated she will conduct the investigation herself.