Justice Department asks judge in golf course case to step aside
The Justice Department demanded that U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes recuse herself from a lawsuit over a golf course, The New York Times reported Friday evening. The Times described the demand as an escalation of an existing standoff with the judge. Two Times-linked listings carried the story, and no second independent outlet was found in the material reviewed. The same paper reported that an appeals court panel questioned the department’s claim that Mr. Trump owns White House records. According to the Times, three judges appeared unconvinced that a federal law requiring the president to preserve such records does not apply. No ruling on either matter had been reported, and the date of any decision on the recusal request was not stated.
If Judge Reyes steps aside, the golf course case could be reassigned to another judge and slowed while a new one learns the file. A ruling on who owns White House records would decide which presidential papers the National Archives keeps and what the public can later request.
Look up the case on the court’s public docket, or follow a legal reporter who covers it, to see whether the recusal motion is granted or denied and when. Treat summaries of the appeals argument from partisan accounts with caution, since the Times is the only outlet cited here and the panel has not ruled.
The government is contesting the judge herself, not only the lawsuit in front of her. A recusal demand is a request, and nothing in the reporting shows the judge has acted on it.
DailyDrop U.S. No. 13 · October 17, 2026