Lawyers, legal reporters and good government advocates celebrated on Friday after Judge Ana Reyes said that she'd be appointing a special master to investigate whether the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior lied to her at any point over the past several months of a case.
At issue is a golf course renovation. President Donald Trump wanted to take over one of the three public golf courses in Washington D.C. and turn it into a PGA-style course where competitions could be held. The process didn't go through the necessary approval process, and existing contracts to renovate and repair the whole manmade island were broken with the National Links Trust.
More recently, in October, 400 cherry blossom and other trees that had been on the island for over 100 years were chopped down. The cherry blossoms were a gift to the U.S. from Japan in 1912, and while there were hundreds of the trees on the island, there is evidence that a few of them were from that original gift, the National Park Service said.
A group of concerned citizens in the D.C. Preservation League and two frequent golfers are suing over the Trump takeover.
When it first went to court, the judge said that she trusted the administration would inform the court if any major changes were being made. Typical maintenance was fine. Cutting down over 400 trees, she explained, did not qualify as maintenance. The administration told the court about the project at 4:55 p.m. on the Friday ahead of a holiday, and the following day the trees were gone.
The judge has been incensed as she navigates the case and multiple instances in which the Justice Department may not have been as forthcoming as attorneys are required to be.
On Friday, after another hearing, Judge Reyes announced that she'd be appointing a special master to investigate whether she was, in fact, lied to.
What started out as a case about a golf course has instead become a debate over the separation of powers in the U.S. Constitution, one man remarked.
"Judge Reyes is questioning how a simple case that would have been difficult for the plaintiffs to win has suddenly become a test of the separation of powers. A constitutional crisis over a golf course, of all things," wrote one observer on BlueSky while following the reporting on the case by legal reporter Chris Geidner.
"Hey, it was a wrong turn in Sarajevo that set off The Great War. A third-rate burglary toppled Nixon. Fitting if the absurd Trump is felled by a golf course," one person replied.
"From our golf course hearing just now. Court opens investigation into possible misrepresentations by Trump admin lawyers about Trump’s plans for E. PotomacPark. This case is not just about preserving this historic public property, cocounsell DF, DDF, L&A are exposing Trump admin corruption," said Norm Eisen, whose firm, the Washington Litigation Group, is handling the plaintiffs side of the case against the government.
"This is a very smart move by Judge Reyes. It insulates the Court by providing a neutral third party. A special master can have broad powers to investigate misconduct. It ensures that the other issues in the case can move forward independently. A very sound move and very ominous for the DOJ here," said one Minneapolis attorney.
"It will go from the District Court to the D.C. Bar once the investigation is completed," said litigator Sean Satori.
"It can be a few things," began law partner Sean Marotta. "1. Reyes can sanction her herself under her inherent authority or Rule 11 or Section 1927. 2. Reyes can refer them to the D.D.C Grievance Committee for action against their D.D.C. bar admissions. 3. Reyes can refer them to the D.C. Bar."
"Also she's already made an explicit bad faith finding, so that really kicks things up," another attorney responded. Our federal courts just weren't used to/prepared for so much lying from the Department of Justice. But they appear to be learning. Good," commented department director and professor Deborah Pearlstein at Princeton University.
