US judge orders ethics inquiry into Trump lawyers over golf course case

Judge Ana Reyes calls on US government lawyers to explain contradictory statements about the East Potomac Golf Links.

US President Donald Trump has targeted the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, DC, for a renovation [File: Saul Loeb/AFP]

A United States federal judge has opened a “formal inquiry” into whether US government lawyers misled the court over plans to transform a historic public golf course in Washington, DC.

Friday’s manoeuvre escalates an ongoing legal fight over President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the US capital.

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Judge Ana Reyes of the US District Court for the District of Columbia announced she would appoint a special master to examine whether government officials withheld information or made misleading assertions concerning the East Potomac Golf Links.

The inquiry will not establish whether government lawyers committed misconduct. It will instead determine whether their conduct breached professional or ethical obligations.

The inquiry follows a series of contradictory statements by administration officials about plans to renovate the course, notably after Trump announced he would proceed with the project on social media.

Reyes questioned Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr for more than two hours during Friday’s hearing, repeatedly comparing his testimony with the president’s online announcements.

She also asked him whether a National Park Service official had been instructed to omit details from a court declaration.

Trump’s posts, which began earlier this month on his Truth Social account, indicated the course would close for 15 months, starting on November 15, to accommodate a major redevelopment.

Yet officials from various government agencies – including the Interior Department, Justice Department and National Park Service – had previously been unable to confirm the existence or scope of any plans when questioned by the judge.

Earlier this year, Reyes had ordered the government to provide advance notice of substantive construction work at the site.

But despite her order, the dispute intensified earlier this month after more than 400 trees were removed from the golf course. Reyes subsequently extended her injunction against the government making any further “irreversible” changes to the site.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department informed the court that the National Park Service would submit a design from golf course architect Tom Fazio to the National Capital Planning Commission on Friday.

But Justice Department lawyers had, up to that point, declined to acknowledge any plans with regards to the golf course.

Even before Wednesday’s submission to the court, Trump had posted about commissioning Fazio “to build a World Class Championship Golf Course” on the park site, which currently includes biking and walking paths.

The DC Preservation League, which filed the lawsuit in February, has argued the redevelopment could violate environmental protections and damage a historically significant public space.

The case marks one of two legal battles unfolding over Trump’s plans for Washington, DC, on Friday.

Another US judge is due to hear a separate challenge to the White House’s proposed construction of a 75-metre (250-foot) memorial arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

The lawsuits raise broader questions about the limits of presidential authority over federal land and public monuments.

David Super, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, told The Associated Press news agency that the cases reflect a shift in how the administration approaches legal constraints on executive power.

“There was always the assumption that you would try to do things that were legal,” Super said. “What we’re seeing here now is that if you think the federal courts can’t stop you”, you can break the law.

法官安娜·雷耶斯要求美国政府律师解释有关东波托马克高尔夫球场的相互矛盾的声明。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普已将华盛顿特区的东波托马克高尔夫球场列入翻新计划。[图片：Saul Loeb/AFP]

美国联邦法官已展开“正式调查”，以查明美国政府律师是否就华盛顿特区一座历史悠久的公共高尔夫球场改造计划误导了法院。

周五的举动加剧了围绕唐纳德·特朗普总统重塑美国首都的努力而展开的持续法律斗争。

美国示威者组成人链抗议肯尼迪中心关闭投票（共3条，此为第1条）

特朗普称华盛顿特区的标志性拱门也将是军事设施（共3条，此为第2条）。

特朗普计划在华盛顿特区修建的拱门面临新的诉讼（共3项，此为第3项）

美国哥伦比亚特区地方法院法官安娜·雷耶斯宣布，她将任命一名特别主事官，调查政府官员是否隐瞒了有关东波托马克高尔夫球场的信息或作出了误导性陈述。

此次调查并非旨在查明政府律师是否存在不当行为，而是旨在确定他们的行为是否违反了职业或道德义务。

此前，政府官员就球场翻新计划发表了一系列自相矛盾的声明，尤其是在特朗普在社交媒体上宣布他将推进该项目之后，因此展开了此次调查。

在周五的听证会上，雷耶斯对副司法部长斯坦利·伍德沃德进行了两个多小时的质询，反复将他的证词与总统的在线声明进行比较。

她还问他，是否有国家公园管理局官员被指示在法庭声明中删除某些细节。

特朗普本月早些时候在他的 Truth Social 账户上发布的帖子表明，该球场将从 11 月 15 日起关闭 15 个月，以便进行重大重建。

然而，此前法官询问时，包括内政部、司法部和国家公园管理局在内的各个政府机构的官员都无法确认任何计划是否存在或范围。

今年早些时候，雷耶斯曾下令政府提前通知该地点的实质性建设工程。

尽管她下达了禁令，但本月初，高尔夫球场上400多棵树木被移除后，这场争端进一步升级。随后，雷耶斯法官延长了禁令，禁止政府对该场地进行任何“不可逆转”的改动。

周三，司法部通知法院，国家公园管理局将于周五向国家首都规划委员会提交高尔夫球场设计师汤姆·法齐奥的设计方案。

但在此之前，司法部律师一直拒绝承认与高尔夫球场有关的任何计划。

甚至在周三向法院提交文件之前，特朗普就曾发帖表示要委托法齐奥在该公园地块上“建造一个世界级锦标赛高尔夫球场”，该地块目前包括自行车道和步行道。

今年 2 月提起诉讼的 DC 保护联盟认为，该重建项目可能违反环境保护规定，并破坏具有重要历史意义的公共空间。

此案是周五围绕特朗普在华盛顿特区的计划展开的两场法律战之一。

另一位美国法官将审理针对白宫提议在阿灵顿国家公墓附近建造一座 75 米（250 英尺）高的纪念拱门的另一项挑战。

这些诉讼引发了关于总统对联邦土地和公共纪念碑的权力界限的更广泛的问题。

乔治城大学法律中心教授大卫·苏珀告诉美联社，这些案件反映了政府在对待行政权力的法律约束方面发生了转变。

“人们一直认为你会尽量做合法的事情，”苏珀说。“但我们现在看到的是，如果你认为联邦法院阻止不了你”，你就可以违法。