Florida state attorney reveals irony in judge’s pick for Trump ethics probe

David Aaronberg, the Florida state attorney targeted and fired by Gov. Ron DeSantis, flagged the new appointment of a "special master" to investigate lawyers for President Donald Trump to see if they lied to the judge, intentionally misled her or flat-out ignored court orders.

Judge Ana Reyes has been incensed after the Trump administration was caught cutting down hundreds of trees on the recreational island in the middle of the Potomac River in Washington D.C. to make way for his new PGA-style golf course.

"The judge got upset at Trump because the judge here thought that Trump was playing her. Judge Reyes thought that the Trump lawyers were ignoring her orders because they were not supposed to tear down all those hundreds of trees without notice. And they gave notice like 10 minutes before 5 p.m. on a holiday weekend," explained Aaronberg.

The golfers and organizations involved in the lawsuit argued that the government was already moving forward with its renovations despite the need of an environmental review as federal law requires, Aaronberg explained. Case in point: the government's decision to cut down 430 trees in less than 24 hours, only informing Reyes just before the close of business.

So, the judge brought in Jessie Liu, a U.S. attorney who Trump himself nominated to run the federal prosecutor's office in Washington. In fact, she was nominated by Trump three times for a post, but each time was declared not sufficiently "MAGA."

"So his lawyers are saying, no, no, don't believe Trump. This plan to... tear down the trees is not part of the new renovations for the golf course," he said. "It's part of a previous plan that had been approved."

The problem is that Trump's social media posts are making things very difficult for Trump's lawyers to argue in court. For one, Secretary Doug Burgum and Tom Fazio, the designer of the course, said that the work would last about 15 months and that they planned to close the existing course on Nov. 15. Trump posted on Truth Social that the work would begin immediately on Oct. 26.

So, Reyes called in Trump officials to testify under oath about when the closure would begin, and none of them could or would answer. Finally, they made it clear that construction would begin on Nov. 15 after all.

Jude Reyes slapped a temporary restraining order on the case as they sorted through things.

"So, this is why the judge has her head splitting. It's like, when did the president give the instruction? Who received it? What did the government's lawyers tell the court after that?" Aaronberg paraphrased the days of hearings.

That's where Jessie Liu comes in: to investigate the ethical conduct of the Justice Department lawyers.

"The ethics rule to understand here is the duty of candor to the court. Lawyers get to argue their client's side hard. I mean, really, they have a duty to work for their clients," Aaronberg said. "But they also have to be truthful with the judge. And as they learn, they've made a material misstatement. They need to correct. And that's why the date the lawyer learned something can matter as much the date the lawyer first spoke."

Liu could decide that the judge must refer those who violated orders or say they were honest mistakes.

"But, I mean, do you think it's an innocent explanation here?" Aaronberg asked. "I mean, the federal government went to court to defend a golf course project. And now its lawyers may have to account for what they told a judge when they said it and what they had in front of them at the time. And the person the judge wants reading those receipts is someone Trump once picked to represent the United States."

What makes it ironic is that after Trump nominated Liu three times, their relationship unraveled. It turns out Trump was furious over how her office handled the prosecution of Trump pal Roger Stone.

"By picking Liu, Reyes chose someone with unimpeachable conservative and federal credentials who was vetted and appointed by Trump himself. So that's what's so great about this appointment," said Aaronberg, noting that Trump allies can't call her a liberal activist.