What did officials know about East Potomac’s closure and redesign before telling a judge there was no plan?

Question

Accepted Answer

Officials appear to have known substantially more than they told the judge. By the time government lawyers said in court on Oct. 19 that there was “no plan” to close East Potomac, Trump had already publicly announced the course would shut on Nov. 15 and said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and architect Tom Fazio had “developed a plan” for a championship redesign. Subsequent court filings undercut the earlier courtroom position. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward later acknowledged that Trump had directed the Interior Department and National Park Service to close the course by Nov. 15 and said Interior was working on a plan to carry out that directive. The government still maintained there was no final, fully approved redesign plan, but Judge Ana Reyes said that did not explain telling the court there was no closure plan at all. The judge also highlighted evidence that planning was already underway beyond a vague concept stage. Government lawyers disclosed that the National Park Service had been preparing for weeks to submit a rendering of the Fazio redesign to the National Capital Planning Commission. Reyes pressed them on why that was not revealed during a seven-hour hearing. Additional reporting also pointed to compliance spending already awarded and a projected construction contract worth up to $49 million. The inquiry will now examine whether officials and lawyers withheld these facts, whether the rapid tree removal was tied to the broader redesign despite offic…

Judge Reyes Probes DOJ Lawyers Over 15-Month Trump Golf Course Renovation Plan

Sources

Sources

Judge Reyes Probes DOJ Lawyers Over 15-Month Trump Golf Course Renovation Plan

Summary

Sources

Insights

Related Stories

Sources

Related Stories