Judge orders ethics inquiry over East Potomac statements

Lawyers and officials at the Justice Department and the Interior Department face an inquiry into whether they misled the court or broke ethics rules over plans for East Potomac Golf Links, US District Judge Ana Reyes said at a status hearing in Washington on Friday 30 October. According to CBS News, a special master, not yet named, will assist her, and the government has five days to object to the appointment. Reyes stressed that no wrongdoing had been found. The DC Preservation League and two local golfers sued to stop the overhaul in February.

She questioned Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward for more than two hours, comparing his testimony with President Trump’s posts about the course. According to WJLA, when Woodward described October’s tree felling as part of the preparations for closing the course, Reyes replied: “News flash.” He then corrected himself and said the felling had not been part of the closure plan.

CBS News reported that the inquiry will examine four questions. The first is whether the Justice Department’s notice of the tree removal, given hours before crews began cutting down hundreds of trees, was filed in bad faith. The second and third are whether government lawyers told Jessica Bowron, the acting National Park Service director, to leave information about the renovation plans out of a court declaration, and told Kevin Griess, superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks, to put certain budget figures into his. The fourth is what Justice Department lawyers said about the renovation, in the period up to Woodward’s filing of 28 October, which said the whole of East Potomac Park would close by 15 November. Until then, officials had told the court there was no finalised plan.

The 15 November closure stands. The Park Service was due to submit the architect Tom Fazio’s rendering of a new course to the National Capital Planning Commission the same day, and the commission is scheduled to consider it at its meeting on 3 December. Reyes’s injunction bars further tree removal and requires 10 days’ written notice before the course is closed or permanently altered.

Sources

• CBS News: Judge opens inquiry into whether Trump officials misled court in D.C. golf course case
• WJLA: Judge wants to know if Trump attorneys violated ethics in East Potomac Park case
• Al Jazeera: US judge orders ethics inquiry into Trump lawyers over golf course case
• Washington Examiner: Judge opens inquiry into Trump administration’s handling of East Potomac golf course case
• Associated Press via WBAY: Justice Department announces Trump plans for golf course are in the works, course will close Nov. 15