He-Van

Judge Ana Reyes has officially run out of fucks to give when it comes to the Trump administration’s word games. And she let them have it. When DOJ’s No. 3 official tried to argue over what Trump meant when he publicly announced the golf course would close November 15, Reyes wasn’t having it. Woodward told her he couldn’t say that Trump meant the course would close on Nov. 15, and even tried to claim the post said “should” be closed. Reyes pointed out it said “will be.” “We played games on October 19th with words, and we’re not doing it today.” When the lawyer tried to claim executive privilege over Trump’s PUBLIC social media posts? “That’s quite an extraordinary view of executive privilege.” She even pulled out a dictionary to explain the meaning of “involved” when officials couldn’t answer whether Interior Secretary Doug Burgum was involved in the project. When the official then said Burgum was only “aware” of the project, Reyes noted he had toured the course and asked, “He doesn’t have a body double, does he?” And when the administration’s explanations kept changing? She reminded them of their duty of candor to the court. When Woodward revealed that a submission to the National Capital Planning Commission on the course design had been in the works for weeks without DOJ telling her, she said, “Are you kidding me right now? Seriously, Mr. Woodward, come on.” Now she’s appointing a special master to investigate whether Trump administration officials misled the court. The investigation begins in days. “For months the court has trusted but not verified,” Reyes said. “No longer.” This isn’t just about a golf course anymore. It’s about whether the executive branch thinks it can mislead a federal court, change its story, and hide behind word games when a judge demands answers. Remember how we got here. The administration cut down more than 400 trees at the course in a single weekend, after Reyes had ordered them to give notice before removing more than 10. Trump called her a “crazed lunatic” on Truth Social. DOJ’s Woodward filed to have her removed from the case, and she denied it. She told the courtroom that “a federal judge is getting death threats over a golf course.” And the DOJ let slip in court that a new seawall at the park would cost between $150 million and $400 million in taxpayer money. Judge Reyes has taken the DOJ to the “Finding Out” phase. And she’s bringing both barrels.