U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes announced on Saturday that she intends to name former Washington, D.C. U.S. attorney Jessie Liu as a special master in the ongoing lawsuit over the East Potomac Golf Course. The judge wants Liu to determine whether officials from the Interior Department, the National Park Service, and the Justice Department provided false or misleading information during the case.
Background of the dispute
The lawsuit was filed in February by the D.C. Preservation League and two local golfers who challenged the federal government’s plan to close the historic public golf course and replace it with a “world‑class, championship‑level” facility. In October, Judge Reyes issued an injunction that temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging any additional trees on the course and requires ten days’ written notice before any “irreparable modification” to the course’s features.
Proposed investigation
Reyes gave the parties until Friday to submit written comments on her proposal to appoint Liu as special master. The judge seeks answers to whether federal officials misrepresented the scope of the renovation plans and whether they were truthful about actions such as the recent cutting of hundreds of trees.
Liu, who served as the chief federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, previously oversaw matters referred to her office by former special counsel Robert Mueller. President Trump later nominated her to be associate attorney general, but she withdrew after opposition from the Senate Judiciary Committee over her past affiliation with a lawyers’ group that supported abortion rights. Liu has since left that group and now works at Liu Shur Kravis LLP.
Administration’s position
President Trump has publicly stated that the park will be closed for 15 months while construction begins on November 15. His posts on Truth Social, which began on October 18, indicated confidence that the renovation plans were real. The Justice Department filed a notice on October 28 confirming the existence of the plans.
Legal commentary
David Super, a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, warned that a judge‑ordered investigation could lead to contempt findings if officials are found to have acted improperly. He also noted the difficulty in pinpointing who authorized the tree‑cutting in apparent conflict with DOJ assurances.
The case highlights the tension between federal development ambitions and preservation concerns for a beloved public recreation site along the Potomac River.
Original reporting: WESH Orlando — read the source article.
