Judge Reyes orders inquiry into DOJ conduct in East Potomac golf course case

District Judge Ana Reyes ordered a formal inquiry on Friday into potential misconduct by Justice Department attorneys in the lawsuit over East Potomac Park. The investigation will determine if government officials misrepresented the status of renovation plans to the court.

The ruling followed a Wednesday filing in which the government admitted it plans to transform the municipal golf course into a championship-level venue. The administration intends to close the park and much of the surrounding area in mid-November. Prior to this admission, Justice Department lawyers representing the Interior Department and National Park Service had told the court that such a plan was not yet final.

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr., who is leading the government's defense, stated that he had no knowledge of any false statements made to the court. Reyes questioned the timing of the government's disclosures, noting that renovation plans were submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission for review on Friday. Woodward said the submission had been in development for weeks, a detail the government had not mentioned in previous hearings.

Reyes cited Rule 3.3 of the D.C. Bar Rules of Professional Conduct, which prohibits lawyers from knowingly making false statements to a court. She announced that a special master with full investigatory powers may lead the inquiry. If the government rejects that option, Reyes will conduct the investigation herself. She stressed that opening an inquiry does not mean the court has found evidence of violations.

The legal dispute escalated in October when the administration cut down hundreds of trees with less than a day's notice. Reyes ordered the government to preserve all relevant documents and extend its ban on further tree removal. She required officials to provide 10 days' written notice before closing or irreversibly modifying East Potomac Park.

The administration argues the closure is necessary to address a crumbling seawall that poses a safety hazard. Jessica Bowron, the acting director of the National Park Service, said in a declaration that large sections of the sidewalk adjacent to the seawall are underwater twice daily. Woodward estimated the seawall repairs would cost between $150 million and $400 million. He did not provide a cost for the golf course renovations.

Representative Jared Huffman sent a letter to appropriations leaders on Thursday asking them to block federal funding for the seawall project. He proposed language for year-end spending legislation to prevent money from being used to redesign golf courses or remove healthy trees. Congress designated East Potomac as a public park in 1897.