Judge Orders Inquiry Into Whether Trump Administration Lawyers Misled Court on Golf Course
Photo: Washington TimesA federal judge in Washington said Friday she will open a formal inquiry into whether Justice Department attorneys for the Trump administration misled the court about plans for the East Potomac Park golf course. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said she would appoint a special master to lead the investigation into whether the lawyers misrepresented facts. President Trump announced on Truth Social earlier this month that the course would close Nov. 15. The next day, Justice Department attorneys said there was no plan to close the park, and days later the administration confirmed it planned to close it. At Friday's hearing, one government lawyer said he was new to the case, and an official asked what Reyes meant by "involved" when she asked about Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. Assistant Attorney General Stanley Woodward reportedly tried to stop questioning of an Interior Department official. Reyes has also ordered that no more trees be removed and no other major alterations be made to the park. The dispute is one of two cases over plans to change the capital's landscape.
The Washington Times, the right-leaning outlet, leads with the political cost to Trump, calling it "golf course headaches" growing, and centers on whether the administration hid his plans to redesign the course on the National Mall, citing Reyes's view that the chain of events was unbelievable. NPR and HuffPost on the left center on possible DOJ misconduct and misleading the court. HuffPost adds the most detail: the special master, the reversal after Trump's post, the dictionary exchange and Woodward's attempt to halt questioning, and it describes the project as Trump's personal playground. Both sides report Reyes's inquiry, but the Times frames concealment of Trump's plans while the left frames lawyers' conduct. AP, in the alternative group, offers a distinct angle by placing the case alongside a second plan to reshape DC.
How the sides differ Right sources stress the administration allegedly hiding Trump's plans; left sources detail courtroom exchanges and misrepresentation; alternative (AP) frames it as one of two DC landscape cases.
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NPR and HuffPost lead with the judge's inquiry into possible DOJ misconduct and misleading the court. HuffPost adds courtroom exchanges with Reyes, Woodward and an Interior official, and her order halting tree removal.
AP reports Reyes's formal inquiry into whether Trump administration attorneys violated ethical boundaries, and places the case as one of two plans revealing the breadth of the president's attempts to change DC.
The Washington Times frames the inquiry as growing headaches for Trump, focusing on whether the administration hid his East Potomac redesign plans and on Reyes calling the chain of events unbelievable.