华盛顿的一名联邦法官周五表示，法庭将调查政府律师在这起关于东波托马克高尔夫球场位于华盛顿特区的公共球场，唐纳德·特朗普总统想要关闭和翻新。
“法院将对机构官员和雇员，包括机构律师和［司法部］律师，是否向法院作出虚假陈述或违反适用的道德规则展开正式调查，”安娜·雷耶斯法官在法庭上说。雷耶斯说，她打算任命一位特别的大师来协助调查。
该案件涉及DC保护联盟（new York Preservation League）今年2月提起的诉讼，旨在阻止内政部关闭波托马克河（Potomac River）上具有历史意义的高尔夫球场，代之以Trump青睐的锦标赛式球场。虽然诉讼仍在进行，但政府在法庭上同意，它将通知DC保护联盟任何永久改变路线的努力。
政府发出了通知下午4点55分在哥伦布日／土著人民日三天周末之前的星期五，它将在周末开始在球场上砍伐树木。第二天一早，它开始工作，砍伐了400多棵树，引起了雷耶斯的愤怒，并引发了一系列法庭活动，以确定政府是否误导了法庭。
雷耶斯在周五的动议听证会上宣读了华盛顿律师协会的职业行为规则，该规则规定了律师在法庭上的义务是真实的，并纠正他们做出的任何虚假陈述或事实或法律。她很快转向司法部副部长斯坦利·伍德沃德，就政府关于关闭高尔夫球场计划的陈述向他发问11月15日。
争议的焦点是伍德沃德10月19日出席听证会，他在听证会上表示，“关于十一月十五日日期．．．没有关闭课程的计划。＂
但一周后，特朗普在其社交媒体平台上发布消息称，“我们将如期关闭东波托马克高尔夫球场网站11月15日为了翻新和重建的竞争力（与其他此类项目！），安全，现代化，美观的原因。＂
周五的听证会计划调和伍德沃德告诉法庭的内容，以及是否有任何虚假陈述提交给法庭。
周二，雷耶斯发布了一份措辞严厉的70页裁决，批评政府对高尔夫球场的计划，并得出结论，政府在此过程中可能违反了环境法。
“美国司法部很少敦促联邦法院不要相信现任总统，”雷耶斯写道。“不要相信他，一个内阁部长已经‘开发’了一个联邦土地项目。不要相信他，部长的机构将摧毁一个历史悠久的高尔夫球场已经在土地上。不要相信他“修复工作”将“立即”开始不要相信他，这门课将会“停课”一年多。不要相信总统一再告诉美国公众的话。然而，我们在这里。＂
法官命令政府在对球场及其所在的东波托马克公园进行任何不可挽回的修改之前，提前10个工作日向法院发出书面通知。
在周五雷耶斯的严厉质问下，伍德沃德坚持说，作为一个法律问题，任何计划都没有最终确定。
伍德沃德此前曾提出动议，取消雷耶斯的资格，理由是她不公正。该申请被雷耶斯拒绝。
尚未任命的特别检察官将被授权调查政府律师（可能包括司法部高级官员）是否参与了虚假陈述、向法庭隐瞒信息、未能纠正虚假证词或干扰书面证词的准确性。
政府将有机会反对这项任命。
Judge says court will investigate government officials in DC golf course case
A federal judge in Washington said Friday the court will investigate whether government attorneys committed ethical violations before the court in the case about the dispute over theEast Potomac Golf Course， the public course in Washington， D．C．， that President Donald Trump wants to close and renovate．
＂The court will open a formal inquiry into whether agency officials and employees， including agency attorneys and ［Justice Department］ attorneys， have made misrepresentations to the court and otherwise violated applicable ethical rules，＂ Judge Ana Reyes said from the bench． Reyes said she intends to appoint a special master to assist in the inquiry．
The case involves a lawsuit filed in February by the DC Preservation League to prevent the Interior Department from closing the historic golf course on the Potomac River and replacing it with a championship-style course favored by Trump． While that litigation was ongoing， the government agreed in court it would give notice to the DC Preservation League about any efforts to permanently alter the course．
The government gave noticeat 4：55 p．m．on the Friday before the Columbus Day／Indigenous Peoples Day three-day weekend that it would commence cutting trees at the course over weekend．It began work early the next morning， cutting down more than 400 trees and drawing the ire of Reyes and sparking a flurry of court activity to determine if the government has misled the court．
Reyes began Friday＇s motions hearing by reading the D．C． Bar rules of professional conduct， which govern the duty of lawyers appearing before the court to be truthful and to correct any false statements or fact or law that they make． She soon turned to Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward， peppering him with questions about the government＇s representations about its plans to close the golf courseon Nov． 15．
At issue was Woodward＇s Oct． 19 appearance in an evidentiary hearing in which he stated that ＂［w］ith regard to theNovember 15thdate ．．． there is no plan to close the course．＂
But a week later， Trump posted on his social media platform that ＂We are closing the East Potomac Golf Course Site as scheduledon November 15thin order to renovate and rebuild for Competitive （with other such projects！）， Safety， Modernization， and Aesthetic reasons．＂
Friday＇s hearing was scheduled to reconcile what Woodward told the court and whether any false statements were made to the court．
On Tuesday， Reyes issued a sharply worded 70-page ruling that criticized the administration over its plans for the golf course 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 judge ordered the administration to give the court 10 business days＇ written notice before making any irreparable modification to the course and East Potomac Park， where it is located．
Under withering questioning from Reyes on Friday， Woodward insisted as a legal matter no plan has been finalized．
Woodward had previously filed a motion to disqualify Reyes on the grounds that she was not impartial．That filing was rejected by Reyes．
The special master， who has yet to be appointed， will have a mandate to investigate whether government lawyers， which could potentially include top Justice Department officials， were involved in making false statements， withholding information from the court， failing to correct false testimony or interfering with the accuracy of written testimony．
The government will have an opportunity to object to the appointment．
