US judge orders ethics investigation into Trump lawyers in golf course affair | Donald Trump News
Judge Ana Reyes calls on U.S. government lawyers to explain conflicting statements about the East Potomac Golf Links.
Published on October 30, 2026
A US federal judge has opened a “formal investigation” into whether US government lawyers misled the court over plans to transform a historic public golf course in Washington, DC.
Friday’s maneuver escalates an ongoing legal battle against President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the U.S. capital.
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Judge Ana Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia announced she will appoint a special master to examine whether government officials withheld information or made misleading claims regarding the East Potomac Golf Links.
The investigation will not determine whether the government’s lawyers committed misconduct. Rather, it will be a question of determining whether their conduct violated their professional or ethical obligations.
The investigation follows a series of conflicting statements from administration officials about plans to renovate the course, particularly after Trump announced he would pursue the project on social media.
Reyes questioned Deputy 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 if a National Park Service official had been instructed to omit details from a court filing.
Trump’s posts, which began earlier this month on his Truth Social account, indicated that the course would be closed for 15 months, starting November 15, to allow for major redevelopment.
Yet officials from various government agencies — including the Interior Department, the Justice Department and the National Park Service — were unable to confirm the existence or scope of any project when questioned by the judge.
Earlier this year, Reyes ordered the government to provide advance notice regarding major construction work at the site.
But despite his order, the conflict escalated earlier this month after more than 400 trees were removed from the golf course. Reyes then extended his injunction against the government making further “irreversible” changes to the site.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department informed the court that the National Park Service would submit a design by golf course architect Tom Fazio to the National Capital Planning Commission on Friday.
But Justice Department lawyers had until then refused to recognize any plans for the golf course.
Even before Wednesday’s submission to the court, Trump had posted about ordering Fazio “to build a world-class championship golf course” on the park site, which currently includes bike and walking trails.
The DC Preservation League, which filed a lawsuit in February, argued the redevelopment could violate environmental protections and damage a historically significant public space.
The case marks one of two legal battles unfolding Friday over Trump’s plans for Washington, DC.
Another U.S. judge is set to hear a separate challenge to the White House’s plan to build a 250-foot (75-meter) memorial arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
The lawsuits raise broader questions about the limits of presidential authority over federal lands and public monuments.
David Super, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, told the Associated Press that the cases reflect a shift in how the administration approaches legal constraints on the executive branch.
“It was always assumed 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 may be breaking the law.
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