President Donald Trump contradicted what his Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge with his own words on Truth Social in his latest self-own in a drawn-out court battle.
In an October 16 filing, government lawyers argued that plans to transform East Potomac Golf Links remained preliminary and that the president's public comments only showed that he gave the project a thought rather than an active plan.
However, in about 48 hours, Trump announced the Interior Department and architect Tom Fazio had "developed a plan" for a "World Class Championship Golf Course" in a Truth Social post. He added that the existing course would close on November 15 for a 15-month renovation and published a redesigned layout.
If that wasn’t enough to contradict his DOJ legal team, he later added: "Work is scheduled to begin IMMEDIATELY!"
That left the attorneys in a precarious position, with the U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes asking:
"Do I believe the president of the United States or do I believe you?" at Monday's hearing.
However, the DOJ still insisted that no plan existed despite Trump’s statement. The attorneys urged Reyes to treat Trump's posts like an executive order rather than a final plan.
After issuing notice late on Friday ahead of the holiday weekend, National Park Service personnel cut down about 400 trees at the old public course on October 10. Officials said the operation aligned with a 2019 landscape restoration report and had nothing to do with Trump’s redesign. Reyes took issue with that account and put a hold on any further tree removal.
Writing in Public Notice on Wednesday, legal analyst Liz Dye argued that the case showed a recurring approach, which is to tell judges government projects are too preliminary to stop, then go ahead with changes that are difficult to reverse.
It is also described as a step to override judicial authority. DOJ attorneys use the Administrative Procedure Act to argue that redesigning the course did not qualify as agency action, potentially limiting the court's ability to intervene. They also invoked separation-of-powers arguments, insisting judges should defer to executive decisions about federal property.
Dye described the argument as an extraordinary effort to place Trump's construction projects beyond judicial control.
Trump attacked Reyes as a "crazed lunatic" for pushing back on his administration's attempt to bypass the rule of law and maintained that the Interior could renovate the course without court approval.
The analysis concludes that while the golf course seems minor, Trump cared enough to lie about it in an ultimately futile attempt to sidestep federal law.
