A federal judge said Saturday she intends to appoint an ex-top federal prosecutor in the nation's capital during President Donald Trump's first term to investigate whether she was purposefully misled by lawyers and administration officials in a lawsuit challenging one of his prized Washington construction projects, the renovation of a historic public golf course along the Potomac River.
Jessie Liu, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, would examine whether officials with the Interior Department and the National Park Service and attorneys with the Department of Justice violated ethics or misled U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes during the course of the case that was initiated in February by the DC Preservation League and two golfers.
The Republican administration plans to close the East Potomac Golf Course and park on Nov. 15 with the intention of constructing a "World Class, championship-level golf course that is capable of hosting major events." An injunction issued by Reyes last month temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging any additional trees on the course and the administration must give 10 days' notice in writing before making any "irreparable modification" to any "forms or features" of the course while the lawsuit is active.
Reyes is giving each side a chance to be heard on her plan to name Liu as special master in the case. They must do so in writing by Friday, when the next court hearing in the dispute is scheduled.
Reyes, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, wants to know whether federal officials lied about the extent of renovation plans during months of hearings. She also wants to know if they were truthful about various steps they took, including cutting hundreds of trees early last month. She announced during a hearing Oct. 30 that she was starting a formal investigation of the government's conduct. Earlier in the case, she had rejected numerous motions from the plaintiffs to step in, saying she trusted the government attorneys.
As the city's chief federal prosecutor, Liu oversaw some of the 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 Justice Department job. Liu withdrew from consideration after running into opposition on the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee because of her past membership in a lawyers' group that has supported abortion rights.
David Super, a law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, said the initiation of a formal investigation by a judge to look into the conduct of a trial's participants "can be a precursor to holding someone in contempt of court."
Super said it also is a reflection "of the difficulty she had in determining who initiated the tree-cutting in defiance of the assurances DOJ provided. She doesn't have the time to keep holding long, complex hearings and so wants a special master to narrow the issues."
Reyes ordered the Oct. 30 hearing after multiple Truth Social posts by Trump indicated there were plans for the golf course and construction was expected to begin Nov. 15. Trump said the park would be closed for 15 months while work goes on.
The presidential posts, which began Oct. 18, created a tense dynamic in multiple court hearings afterward when administration officials could not confirm the existence of the plans under questioning from Reyes. She eventually asked whom she should trust. The Justice Department filed notice Oct. 28 that the plans were real.
