Judge plans to name Jessie Liu to probe golf case conduct

As of 9:57 p.m. ET, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026

The federal judge overseeing the lawsuit over East Potomac Golf Links in Washington said Saturday, Nov. 7, that she intends to appoint former U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu as a special master to investigate whether Justice Department or Interior Department lawyers committed ethical violations in the case, according to a minute order on the court's docket.

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes has not yet made the appointment. Her order gives the parties until 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, to be heard in writing on the choice of Liu, and on having the government pay for her work. "If the Court appoints Ms. Liu, it will enter a detailed order doing so," Reyes wrote.

What the order says

The order says Reyes intends to appoint a special master, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53, to investigate whether government counsel committed ethical violations in the case through Oct. 31, "for the reasons stated at the October 30, 2026, hearing." It does not make any finding of misconduct.

Any government response will not waive its argument, if it makes one, that the court should not conduct an ethics inquiry at all, the order says.

Liu was U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 2017 to 2020, and earlier an assistant U.S. attorney in that office, the order notes. It lists senior Justice Department posts she has held and says she also served as deputy general counsel of the Treasury Department. She is a partner at the law firm Liu Shur Kravis LLP.

How the case got here

The DC Preservation League and two individual plaintiffs sued the Interior Department and the National Park Service in February. They allege the plan to rebuild the public course and East Potomac Park violates environmental and preservation laws. Reyes issued a preliminary injunction on Oct. 26, and the government has appealed it, the docket shows. On Nov. 9, Reyes amended the injunction order at the parties' suggestion, according to the docket.

On Oct. 27, Reyes took judicial notice of a Truth Social post in which President Donald Trump said the course would close "as scheduled on November 15th." Her order noted that Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward had told the court on Oct. 19 that "there is no plan to close the course." She ordered the government to explain how the two could be reconciled, and held a hearing on Oct. 30.

Reuters reported that at that hearing the judge raised concerns that government lawyers had misrepresented the administration's plans. The Interior Department has called Reyes a "far Left activist judge," Reuters reported.

What comes next

Beyond the Nov. 13 deadline on Liu, Reyes has set an in-person hearing for 10 a.m. that day on any motions tied to the project's planning submission, and has ordered Woodward to attend in person, the docket shows. The plaintiffs filed a motion on Nov. 5 seeking to block the course's closure.