U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes sharply criticized government attorneys during an emergency hearing Monday over tree removal at East Potomac Golf Links, a public course on National Park Service land in Washington, D.C., according to Fox News’ account of courtroom reporting by journalist Scott MacFarlane.
A government lawyer acknowledged that about 430 trees had been removed, MacFarlane reported. Reyes questioned why the court and plaintiffs received notice late Friday, shortly before the work was expected to begin. The Fox report said the judge challenged government counsel about when officials learned of the operation and why they had not provided notice sooner.
The Trump administration says the removals are part of a 2019 National Park Service landscape-restoration plan and are separate from President Donald Trump’s proposal to renovate the golf course. Preservationists argue that the work did not meet environmental and historic-preservation requirements. The competing claims were presented in the dispute; the supplied account does not report a final ruling on them.
The hearing concerns a historic public golf facility at Hains Point. The controversy comes amid broader litigation over the administration’s plans for the site, but Monday’s reported confrontation centered on the tree removal and the timing of notice to the court.
Fox News also cited prior disputes involving Reyes and the Trump administration. Those episodes are background to the current case and do not determine the merits of the tree-removal dispute.
