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# Judge taps Trump's former top D.C. prosecutor to probe whether DOJ lawyers misled her
- URL: https://www.workersrights.news/judge-reyes-jessie-liu-special-master-doj-east-potomac-golf/
- Published: 2026-11-08T18:30:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-08T18:30:30.000Z
- Description: The inquiry would be paid for by the government, and Reyes would decide any findings herself.
- Author: WorkersRights.News Team
- Tags: Legal News, Politics

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said Saturday she intends to appoint Jessie Liu, who was the top federal prosecutor in Washington during President Trump's first term, as a special master to investigate whether Justice Department and Interior Department lawyers committed ethical violations while defending Trump's plan to close and rebuild the East Potomac Golf Links, [Reuters reported](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/special-master-named-ethics-probe-031807718.html?ref=workersrights.news).

The inquiry would cover the government's conduct in the case through Oct. 31 and would run "at the Government's cost," according to the judge's notice as quoted by [Raw Story](https://www.rawstory.com/trump-court-2678324023/?ref=workersrights.news). Reyes has not found that any lawyer committed misconduct. The case is *DC Preservation League v. Department of the Interior* in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Liu served as U.S. attorney for D.C. from 2017 to 2020 and resigned after Trump withdrew her nomination for a Treasury Department post, [the Washington Sun reported](https://www.washingtonsun.com/metro/judge-appoints-special-master-east-potomac-park-case?ref=workersrights.news). She oversaw the criminal case against Trump adviser Roger Stone, according to Reuters.

### How a golf case became an ethics probe

The DC Preservation League and two local golfers sued to stop the redevelopment of the public course. Their co-counsel is Democracy Forward. In early October, the National Park Service filed notice of a tree-cutting plan minutes before close of business on a holiday weekend, and at least 400 trees came down, the [Associated Press reported](https://www.itv.com/news/2026-10-13/judge-orders-halt-to-work-on-historic-dc-golf-course-until-oct-26?ref=workersrights.news). "What has happened has cost the government all credibility with me," Reyes said then.

On Oct. 19, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the department's No. 3 official, told the court "there is no plan to close the course," [ABC News reported](https://abcnews.com/Politics/judge-court-investigate-government-officials-dc-golf-case/story?id=137723824&ref=workersrights.news). About a week later, Trump posted that the course would close as scheduled on Nov. 15.

Reyes issued a 70-page injunction on Oct. 26\. "Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting President," she wrote, [CBS News reported](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/doj-says-government-developing-plan-200253811.html?ref=workersrights.news). Two days later, Woodward told the court that Interior was working on a plan to carry out Trump's direction to close the course.

The government asked Reyes to step aside, and she refused. The Interior Department called her a "far Left activist judge," Reuters reported. At an Oct. 30 hearing, Reyes opened the inquiry and read aloud D.C. Bar rules requiring lawyers to be truthful with the court and to correct false statements, ABC News reported.

### Not the first judge to lose patience

Courts usually extend the government a "presumption of regularity," the assumption that officials follow the rules and act in good faith. A [ProPublica review](https://www.propublica.org/article/justice-department-presumption-of-regularity?ref=workersrights.news) published in July found more than 40 cases since Trump's return in which judges explicitly questioned that presumption.

In the case over Kilmar Abrego Garcia's wrongful deportation, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis told government lawyers, "You have taken the presumption of regularity, and you've destroyed it." Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island, a Trump appointee, wrote that the department had proven unworthy of the court's trust at every point in a subpoena fight over a hospital's care of transgender children. Judge Lauren King in Washington state, a Biden appointee, found the presumption dislodged by repeated factual errors in government filings. A Justice Department spokesperson told ProPublica the department stands behind its lawyers' professionalism and good faith.

### What happens next

The parties have until 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, to object in writing, and the government can do so without giving up its argument that no ethics inquiry should happen at all. If Reyes goes forward, she will issue a detailed order setting Liu's duties.

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53, that order must spell out the master's duties, including any investigation. A master can regulate proceedings and, at a hearing, compel and take evidence. Liu would recommend; Reyes would decide any objections to her findings fresh. The rule also lets a judge split the master's fees by how far a party is "more responsible" for the need to appoint one, [the rule's text](https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/Rule%2053.pdf?ref=workersrights.news) says.

Meanwhile, the Nov. 15 closure date Trump announced is days away. Reyes's injunction bars cutting more trees and requires 10 business days' written notice before any irreversible change to the park, ABC News reported. The Justice Department has filed notice that it will appeal the injunction to the D.C. Circuit, [Law&Crime reported](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-vows-immediately-appeal-judges-150204919.html?ref=workersrights.news).

### Sources

- [Special master named for ethics probe in lawsuit over Trump's DC golf project](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/special-master-named-ethics-probe-031807718.html?ref=workersrights.news), Reuters (via Yahoo News)
- [Judge puts the hammer down on Trump with new probe into whether lawyers misled the court](https://www.rawstory.com/trump-court-2678324023/?ref=workersrights.news), Raw Story
- [Judge Appoints Special Master to East Potomac Park Case Probe](https://www.washingtonsun.com/metro/judge-appoints-special-master-east-potomac-park-case?ref=workersrights.news), Washington Sun
- [Federal judge orders Trump administration to halt work on historic DC golf course until Oct. 26](https://www.itv.com/news/2026-10-13/judge-orders-halt-to-work-on-historic-dc-golf-course-until-oct-26?ref=workersrights.news), Associated Press (via ITV)
- [Judge says court will investigate government officials in DC golf course case](https://abcnews.com/Politics/judge-court-investigate-government-officials-dc-golf-case/story?id=137723824&ref=workersrights.news), ABC News
- [DOJ says government developing plan to close D.C. golf course](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/doj-says-government-developing-plan-200253811.html?ref=workersrights.news), CBS News (via Yahoo News)
- [Federal judges chastise Trump's Justice Department](https://www.propublica.org/article/justice-department-presumption-of-regularity?ref=workersrights.news), ProPublica
- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53 (Masters)](https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/Rule%2053.pdf?ref=workersrights.news), U.S. Courts
- [Trump vows to 'immediately appeal' judge's decision](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-vows-immediately-appeal-judges-150204919.html?ref=workersrights.news), Law&Crime (via Yahoo News)