A federal judge ruled on Friday that she is appointing a Special Master to investigate whether representatives of the Department of Justice and the Department of Interior "lied" to her about President Donald Trump's intentions for the East Potomac Golf Course. According to reporters, Judge Ana Reyes suspects that government attorneys "misrepresented" their case. A Special Master is a neutral appointee the court tasks with investigating specific disputed questions and reporting findings back to the judge — here, whether the government's statements about the project were accurate.

The dispute blew up in the administration's face because of Trump's own words. On Tuesday, Judge Reyes put attorneys on notice, warning that Trump's social media posts may have directly violated a court order.

The case is the result of Trump's effort to have the East Potomac Golf Course torn down and renovated, an effort that preservation groups sued to block. While the court barred any action regarding the park pending its final decision, a social media post by Trump suggested that he was ignoring the order. The dispute already includes a show-cause order — a directive requiring a party to explain conduct that could warrant contempt or sanctions — which the court issued on October 26.

According to the order: "The Court takes judicial notice of President Donald J. Trump's Truth Social post at 11:37 p.m. on October 26, 2026, stating, 'We are closing the East Potomac Golf Course Site as scheduled on November 15th in order to renovate and rebuild for Competitive (with other such projects!), Safety, Modernization, and Aesthetic reasons.' Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward told the Court on October 19 that '[w]ith regard to the November 15th date... there is no plan to close the course.' The Court ORDERS Defendants to clarify, as part of their response to the Court's show-cause order from October 26, whether any plan exists to close East Potomac Golf Course on or around November 15, 2026. And, if so, how that can be reconciled with Associate AG Woodward's representation to the Court."

Reporting on the matter, Politico Senior Legal Affairs Correspondent Kyle Cheney noted: "Looks like [Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward] will be back in court Friday or Monday as Judge Reyes demands to know who is correct."

The Friday hearing has now come and gone, and it did not go in the president's favor. Should the investigation reveal that agency lawyers did indeed lie to the judge, some form of court sanction, fines, or even jail time is possible. The stakes reflect a bedrock expectation in federal court: candor from the attorneys who appear before it. Attention now turns to the Special Master's findings — and to whether the government's response can reconcile Woodward's October 19 assurance with the November 15 closing date Trump announced.

While the judge referenced a single post, Trump actually commented twice about the November 15 closing date, arguing that the "judge has absolutely no right to hold up this very important and beautiful Project," and adding, "To have to give advanced notices to a judge who has no expertise in Golf, Architecture, Landscaping, Construction or anything else having to do with building such a World Class Project, is not fair, appropriate or Constitutional."

Judge Reyes hit back with strong words of her own, writing in her original opinion: "Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting president. And yet, here we are."

Source: Alternet