The Trump administration tried to keep secret the names of officials involved in planning a multimillion-dollar, taxpayer-funded makeover of a public golf course in Washington, D.C., after a federal judge launched an investigation into whether the government moved forward with the plans despite her orders.
The Trump administration wants to “preserve the anonymity” of Department of the Interior employees who “drafted, edited, or provided input” on a plan for the East Potomac Golf Links that was submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission, according to court filings.
“There are significant privacy concerns involved in this case, and there is no need for public access to this information,” Department of Justice lawyers said in a filing on Thursday.
“The case at hand is a highly publicized matter which has drawn national attention. With that attention, has sadly come outrage and death threats. These privacy concerns support sealing,” the lawyers wrote. “Government employees are reasonably concerned that they will be subject to the same level of publicity, harassment, and potential harm.”
But U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes was having none of that. She ordered the government to release the list of names by 5 p.m. on Thursday.
“There is little possibility of prejudice from the disclosure of the names of government employees acting within the scope of their employment,” the judge said.
The government finally, and reluctantly, released the list of names shortly before the judge’s 5 p.m. deadline. And it accused the judge of violating the president’s constitutional rights.
“Ordering the production of such names is not a legitimate exercise of the court’s authority, and an unconstitutional infringement on the Executive Branch’s right to conduct its own affairs,” Justice Department officials said.
The Trump administration maintained for weeks that there were no imminent plans to close the park, despite the president’s posts on Truth Social laying out his vision for the project. But the Department of Justice finally acknowledged in court filings last month that the president’s plans to close East Potomac Park on November 15 are, in fact, underway.
The admission caught Judge Reyes off guard. She appointed a former federal prosecutor to probe the government’s actions in this case and to determine whether officials have been lying or violated ethics rules.
On October 26, Reyes issued a preliminary injunction blocking the removal of any trees at the golf course, and said 10 days’ notice must be provided for any “irreparable modification” of the site while a lawsuit filed by the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers is active.
The legal battle escalates into a fight over what could be Trump’s biggest D.C. makeover project yet, and puts the future of the nearly 400-acre public park at risk.
