A federal judge on Monday unleashed her anger on Justice Department attorneys, accusing them of failing to provide proper notification for the weekend removal of hundreds of trees at Washington's East Potomac Golf Links. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes stated she was "thoroughly unamused" by the government's actions, which she said violated her earlier order demanding advance notice of any substantial construction at the historic public golf course.
"I was hearing from everybody on plaintiffs’ side that this was going to happen and I said repeatedly, no, I trust the government,” Reyes told DOJ lawyers. “I trusted you all not to do precisely what you have done.”
The government announced Friday evening, just before the holiday weekend, its intention to cut down 529 trees on Saturday and hundreds more subsequently. The D.C. Preservation League, which filed a lawsuit in February over the golf course project, had requested an emergency order blocking further tree removal and requiring advance notice of major changes.
Reyes imposed a temporary pause on further tree removal until Tuesday morning, warning that any violation would lead to contempt proceedings. She declared that the failure to notify the preservation group about the Saturday work "has cost the government all of its credibility" in the case.
The judge pressed government attorneys on who ordered the tree removal and how long they had known about the plan. Lawyers responded that they learned of it on Wednesday, October 7, and discovered it would occur the following Saturday. Reyes questioned their efforts to notify the plaintiffs, asking if they had the means to communicate such information.
"Do you have email accounts? Do you have cell phones? Do you have regular phones? Do you have the ability to get into a car and go to where plaintiffs are and tell them?" she asked.
Reyes firmly rejected the administration's assertions that they had done all they could to inform the plaintiffs. "You did not do your best. You did your absolute worst," she stated.
The plan to overhaul the century-old public golf course, owned by the federal government and managed by the National Park Service, was announced by the president last year. The preservation league’s lawsuit contends that Trump violated environmental laws in an effort to "irreparably destroy a priceless piece of American history."
Kevin Greiss, the superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, testified during the hearing that the tree removal was part of a 2019 plan initiated by the National Park Service that predates the golf course project. Greiss, who was appointed by the Biden administration, stated that NPS suddenly decided to proceed with the plan last week.