A federal judge grilled Justice Department lawyers for hours over the planned closure of East Potomac Park and the East Potomac Golf Links, expressing skepticism about the government's safety rationale.
A federal judge grilled Justice Department lawyers for hours in a Washington, D.C., courtroom on Friday over the planned Sunday closure of the East Potomac Golf Links and East Potomac Park, appearing likely to halt the looming closure after previously prohibiting the Trump administration from removing trees from the golf course.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, questioned the Trump administration’s plans to close the East Potomac Park on Sunday, expressing deep skepticism toward the DOJ lawyers. DOJ lawyers said during the hearing that East Potomac Park was being closed for safety reasons regarding deterioration to the seawall and noted that the contract with National Links Trust to operate the course terminated effective Sunday.
Reyes pushed back on the rationale of closing the park due to seawall damage, noting that the seawall has had documented issues for the past decade and noted that thousands of runners traversed the park last month for the Marine Corps Marathon.
"The question is why we have to shut down all of Hains Point because of the seawall? It certainly wasn’t such a safety hazard that we couldn’t have 30,000 people running around the course, right?" Reyes asked.
When Reyes pressed DOJ lawyers on if they had planned to do any work during the closure to the seawall or the golf course, DOJ lawyers said there were no current plans to do any work once the park is closed on Sunday.
Reyes has separately opened an inquiry last month into whether administration officials misled the court and violated professional ethics rules during past proceedings regarding the legal fight over the future of East Potomac Park.
During Friday’s hearing, Reyes appeared deeply skeptical of many of the claims made by DOJ lawyers about the administration’s plans for the golf course, warning them that there would be severe consequences if they mislead her or attempt to destroy any documents related to the golf course renovation.
The hearing determines whether the government can close East Potomac Park and the East Potomac Golf Links on Sunday as planned, affecting public access to a recreation area used by runners, cyclists, bird-watchers and others.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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