Trump's growing 'pile of contaminated debris' and cabinet official's admissions on golf course are all the proof judge needs to act: Court filing

FILE – Then-former President Donald Trump greets supporters and signs autographs during the final round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament at his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., Aug. 13, 2023 (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File).

Telling a federal judge she was right to be skeptical of the government's assurances about its activities at East Potomac Park Golf Course, a group said President Donald Trump's "giant pile of contaminated debris" should be all that's needed to block an "unlawful" overhaul of a "historic, recreational-style design."

The D.C. Preservation League's case began under hurried circumstances over a weekend at the start of May, when U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes — who apparently was not even in the country at the time — set an emergency hearing for early on a Monday morning. The hearing included testimony from the National Mall and Memorial Parks Superintendent Kevin Griess, who downplayed the plaintiff's concerns that an imminent "takeover" of the golf course would replace the historic design with a "championship-style venue for professional tournaments."

Casting those concerns as overblown, Griess testified that a "very dangerous" yet uncertain number of "dead trees" threatened the golf course and that maintenance had only been directed to take an inventory of trees needing removal.

Reyes, a Joe Biden appointee, didn't issue an injunction but she did warn the government not to create a situation where "something has happened and then I'm being told by the government or by a foundation or by a bulldozing company that it's too late to do anything about it."

In the days that followed, the D.C. Preservation League filed a supplemental exhibit of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum's post on X, showing the National Park Service, National Links Trust, Fazio Design, and potentially the Washington Commanders were involved in a "historic investment" to restore three golf courses, including at East Potomac Park.

"[L]imited restoration and preservation of a course stands in stark contrast to the planned conversion of East Potomac to a championship course with the retention of a historic architect's 'themes' that now looms at East Potomac," the plaintiff said of the post. "This makes clear that the forthcoming work at East Potomac is, as Plaintiffs have alleged, a massive overhaul, not merely restoration and required maintenance."

And on Thursday, the group once again told Reyes it has proof this project is "final and underway," and "unlawful."

Look no further than the the course "design plan" trumpeted by Burgum and the "30,000 cubic yards of contaminated construction debris" that was "illegally dumped" after the president had the East Wing of the White House torn down, the filing said.

In fact, the plaintiff claimed, the debris pile has "substantially surpasse[d]" 30,000 cubic yards, and the government's "own tests […] show concerning levels of arsenic, hydrocarbons, and other dangerous pollutants — including lead."

"Defendants urge that no decision has been reached and no plan has been adopted. But as detailed below, Plaintiffs' well pled allegations plausibly claim that Defendants have in fact decided upon and adopted the Washington National plan and have begun implementing it, including through massive and unlawful debris dumping on the Course," said the plaintiff group, represented by attorneys Abbe Lowell, Norm Eisen, and several others.

"All Plaintiffs want is for Defendants not to destroy a federal parkland — or, at the very least, not to do it before studying that plan's environmental and historic consequences," court documents added, arguing the Trump administration "ran afoul" of legal restrictions and should not be rewarded with dismissal.