Lesbian Judge Appoints Ex-Prosecutor to Investigate if Trump DOJ Lawyers Purposely Misled Her in Golf Course Case
Out judge Ana Reyes is looking into whether lawyers for the federal government had lied to her about the renovation plans for the East Potomac golf course.
A federal judge on Saturday said that she will appoint an investigator to examine whether lawyers for the Department of Justice lied to her about the controversial changes to a historic public golf course in Washington, D.C.
Judge Ana Reyes tasked former US attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie Liu, who was a federal prosecutor under Trump, with investigating whether officials with the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service, as well as DOJ lawyers, had lied to her during a civil case about the renovations for the East Potomac golf course. The case was brought in February by the DC Preservation League and two golfers, according to The Associated Press.
That suit looks to stop one of President Donald Trump’s pet projects around D.C. The administration is planning to close the course in about a week to remake it as a “World Class, championship-level golf course that is capable of hosting major events,” according to the outlet.
Reyes ordered an injunction last month that had stopped, only temporarily, the administration from removing any trees on the golf course and required it to provide 10 days’ notice before making “irreparable modification” to any “forms or features” to it while the suit made its way through court.
At the heart of the investigation that Liu will undertake is whether officials were truthful about the renovation plans in recent months.
“Earlier in the case, she had rejected numerous motions from the plaintiffs to step in, saying she trusted the government attorneys,” the AP reports.
However, Truth Social posts by the president seemed to indicate that there had been plans already in the works.
“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,” the AP reports.
Trump had previously nominated Liu to associate attorney general, but she withdrew her name after Republicans opposed her appointment after it came to light that she had been a member of a lawyers’ group that supports reproductive rights.
Law professor David Super at Georgetown University told the news agency that the investigation could be the beginning of holding someone in contempt of court.
He added it also showed “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 has presided over several high-profile challenges to the Trump administration. In 2025, she blocked the ban on transgender military service, though the Supreme Court let it take effect while the case continues.
