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Judge admonishes Trump administration over plans for Washington, DC, golf course
Trump said he plans to close the course Nov. 15.
A federal judge has ordered a top Department of Justice official back into court after President Donald Trump posted on his social media account affirming that East Potomac Golf Course will close Nov. 15 for renovations — directly contradicting repeated assertions from administration officials in a hearing last week.
District Judge Ana Reyes has ordered Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward to clarify whether his prior statements to her that there were no plans to close the course remain accurate.
She further ordered Woodward's attendance at a hearing either Friday or Monday where she is expected to press the government for more updates on its compliance with her injunction barring further construction at East Potomac.
In a sharply worded 70-page ruling, Reyes criticized the Trump administration over its plans for the historic golf course in Washington, D.C., and concluded the administration likely violated environmental laws in the process.
"Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting President," Reyes wrote. "Not to believe him that a cabinet secretary has 'developed' a federal land project. Not to believe him that the secretary's agency will destroy a historic golf course already on the land. Not to believe him that 'Restoration work' will begin 'IMMEDIATELY!' Not to believe him that the course 'will be closed' for over a year. Not to believe what the President has repeatedly told the American public. And yet, here we are."
The case began over golf and long walks, Reyes said, but has now morphed into an effort to reconcile sworn statements made by members of the administration with statements made by Trump.
The administration must give "ten business days' written advance notice before making any irreparable modification to any forms or features of East Potomac Park, pending the outcome of this litigation," Reyes said.
Hours before the hearing was set to start, the president had posted on social media that construction on East Potomac Golf Course would begin immediately, despite the administration suggesting to the court that it would not.
"If, as DOJ insists, President Trump is wrong, Secretary Burgum can just say so," Reyes wrote. "He has not. That said, at this juncture Plaintiffs carry the burden of showing a final plan likely exists. They have done so. This is confirmed not just by the President's and Secretary's many posts, but also by the Government's actions, not the least of which is the removal of hundreds of healthy, non-invasive trees on no real notice."
The tree removal had been scheduled a week earlier, but Reyes concluded that those involved in the lawsuit had little notice to stop the cutting.
The administration also likely violated environmental laws — specifically the National Environmental Policy Act -- by "segmenting" the environmental impacts of the construction, she said.
Trump said his administration will appeal the ruling, insisting he will move forward with his plans to shut down the course on Nov. 15 to start the project.
"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," Trump wrote on his social media platform overnight.
He said the judge's request for updates is "unconstitutional."
"We believe this Project is totally 'as of right,' and that the judge does not have the Constitutional Right to 'ask for or receive notices,' which are time-consuming, unnecessary, expensive, and unconstitutional. We will immediately appeal this decision," Trump wrote.
During a gaggle with reporters on Monday night after his Mississippi rally, Trump also said he has a "go-ahead" to work on the renovations and blasted the judge for being an "architectural critic of golf courses."
"It's not my golf course, it's a public course being built in Washington D.C. and it has a go-ahead," Trump said.
He added that the current public course is "extremely dangerous to play" because it is too close together and that he was asking the D.C. Circuit Court for "immediate remedy."
