Judge Opens Inquiry Into Whether Trump Lawyers Misled Her About the D.C. Golf Course. Government Lawyers Owe the Court the Truth.

The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.

A federal judge in Washington said Friday she is opening a formal inquiry into whether Trump administration lawyers misled her court about the president's plans for the historic East Potomac golf course near the National Mall, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said the court would appoint a special master to investigate whether agency officials and Justice Department attorneys made misrepresentations in court.

"For months the court has trusted but not verified," Reyes said, according to Bloomberg Law. "No longer." Bloomberg Law reported that the inquiry could be conducted by the judge herself or by a special master, and would examine whether Justice Department or agency lawyers made false statements, withheld information or otherwise violated ethics rules. She also ordered the administration to preserve all documents and communications about the golf course planning.

Reyes stressed that opening the inquiry does not mean she has found, or will find, that the government broke ethics rules, Bloomberg Law and MS NOW both reported.

A president's posts and a lawyer's answers

The dispute turns on the gap between what President Trump has said in public and what his lawyers told the court. On Oct. 18, Trump announced that the Interior Department "has developed a plan" to build a new course on the site, which "will be closed" Nov. 15 for about 15 months of renovation, Bloomberg Law reported. The next day, Stanley Woodward, the Justice Department's third-ranking official, told Reyes that "there is no plan to close the course."

The department filed notice Wednesday night that the plans were real, the AP reported. "On Friday, October 30, 2026, the National Park Service will submit to the National Capital Planning Commission for review a rendering designed by Tom Fazio for a World Class, championship-level golf course that is capable of hosting major events," the notice said.

At Friday's hearing, Woodward disclosed that a submission to the planning commission had been in the works for weeks, according to Bloomberg Law. "Are you kidding me right now? Seriously, Mr. Woodward, come on," Reyes said. When she pressed him on what the president meant by his posts, Woodward said he "didn't utter those words" and objected to "hypothesizing" about the president's meaning. He said the question "seems to fall squarely within the executive privilege." Reyes replied: "That is quite an extraordinary view of executive privilege."

A Justice Department spokesperson told MS NOW: "The Department of Justice will not be deterred from executing on the President's agenda." Earlier this week, Reyes blocked the administration from removing any more trees from the course and ordered the government to give at least 10 business days' notice before any closure or "irreversible modification" to East Potomac Park, MS NOW reported. The administration has appealed that ruling.

The case was brought by the DC Preservation League and two Washington-area golfers, Bloomberg Law reported. Three courtrooms away on Friday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan heard arguments over Trump's planned 250-foot memorial arch near Arlington National Cemetery, which the government hopes to approve and possibly begin building on Nov. 5, according to the AP.

Opinion: Government lawyers owe the court the truth, whoever is president

Let us be fair to the president first. Wanting a better public golf course in the nation's capital is not a scandal. A president is allowed to have plans, and he is allowed to announce them. Trump has never hidden this one. He posted it for the whole country to read.

That is exactly the problem for his lawyers. When the president says a plan exists and a date is set, and the Justice Department tells a federal judge the next day that there is no plan, somebody is not telling the truth. The department later admitted the plans were real. Now we learn work on a submission was underway for weeks. The judge has not found misconduct, and she said so. An inquiry is not a verdict. But the department brought this on itself.

Lawyers for the government are not ordinary advocates. They speak for the United States in its own courts. When they shade the truth, they spend trust that belongs to every citizen, including the conservatives who will need honest courts the next time a Democrat holds the White House. Hiding behind executive privilege to avoid saying what a public post plainly means does not help. It makes the government look like it is playing games with a judge.

Scripture sets the standard: "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another." That rule does not bend for a good cause or a powerful client. We wrote earlier this month that Trump Sets D.C. Golf Course Start Date as DOJ Tells Judge No Plan. The fix then was simple, and it still is: say what the plan is, follow the law to carry it out, and let the court rule. A golf course can wait 10 business days. Honesty cannot wait at all.