Nation · National
Federal judge plans to name ex-U.S. attorney Jessie Liu to probe whether officials misled her in Trump golf course case
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes wants Jessie Liu to examine whether federal officials and Justice Department lawyers misled the court over the East Potomac Golf Course renovation, set to close Nov. 15.
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What happened
A federal judge in Washington said Saturday she plans to appoint Jessie Liu, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, to investigate whether government lawyers and administration officials deliberately misled her in a lawsuit over the East Potomac Golf Course. The Associated Press reported the news in a story published by PBS NewsHour. The case challenges the renovation of the historic public course along the Potomac River, one of President Donald Trump's prized construction projects in the capital.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes wants Liu to serve as a special master. Liu would look at whether officials with the Interior Department and the National Park Service, along with Justice Department attorneys, violated ethics or misled the court during the case.
The fight over the golf course
Who sued and what the administration plans
The DC Preservation League and two golfers filed the lawsuit in February. According to the AP, the administration plans to close the course and park on Nov. 15 to build a "World Class, championship-level golf course that is capable of hosting major events." Trump has said the park would be closed for 15 months while the work goes on.
What the court has already ordered
Last month Reyes issued an injunction that temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging any more trees on the course. While the lawsuit is active, the administration must also give 10 days' written notice before making any "irreparable modification" to the course's "forms or features."
Why the judge is investigating
Questions about tree cutting and renovation plans
Reyes wants to know whether federal officials lied about the extent of the renovation plans during months of hearings, the AP reported. She also wants to know whether they were truthful about steps they took, including cutting hundreds of trees early last month. A Reuters photo caption published with the story said the administration cut down more than 400 trees.
Earlier in the case, Reyes had rejected numerous motions from the plaintiffs asking her to step in, saying she trusted the government's attorneys. At an Oct. 30 hearing, she announced she was starting a formal investigation into the government's conduct.
Posts on Truth Social
Reyes ordered the Oct. 30 hearing after several Truth Social posts by Trump indicated there were plans for the course and that construction was expected to begin Nov. 15. Those posts began Oct. 18. In hearings afterward, administration officials could not confirm the plans existed when Reyes questioned them, and she eventually asked whom she should trust. The Justice Department filed a notice on Oct. 28 saying the plans were real.
Who Jessie Liu is
Liu was the chief federal prosecutor in Washington during Trump's first term. In that job she oversaw some matters referred to her office by then-special counsel Robert Mueller during his investigation into possible ties between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia. Trump later nominated her to be associate attorney general, the third-highest ranking job at the Justice Department.
She withdrew from consideration after running into opposition on the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee over her past membership in a lawyers' group that has supported abortion rights. She later resigned from that group, saying it took left-leaning positions, and she now has her own firm, Liu Shur Kravis LLP. Reyes was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden. More coverage from Washington is in our national news section.
What a legal expert says
David Super, a law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, said a judge starting a formal investigation into the conduct of a case's participants "can be a precursor to holding someone in contempt of court," according to the AP.
Super said the move also is a reflection "of the difficulty she had in determining who initiated the tree-cutting in defiance of the assurances DOJ provided." He said Reyes does not have time to keep holding long, complex hearings and wants a special master to narrow the issues.
What to watch next
- Both sides must respond in writing by Friday to Reyes' plan to name Liu as special master.
- The next court hearing in the dispute is scheduled for Friday.
- The administration plans to close the East Potomac Golf Course and park on Nov. 15.
- While the lawsuit is active, the administration must give 10 days' written notice before making any irreparable modification to the course's forms or features.
