Judge bars more tree cutting at D.C.'s East Potomac golf course
A federal judge on Tuesday barred officials from cutting more trees at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington through Oct. 26. Hundreds of trees were cut down there over the weekend. Judge Ana Reyes also ordered top park officials to testify about who approved the work.
A federal judge on Tuesday, Oct. 13, blocked the Trump administration from cutting down any more trees at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C. The order from U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes lasts through Oct. 26, CBS News, ABC News, NPR and the Washington Examiner reported, and it extends a one-day order she issued early Monday.
President Donald Trump wants to rebuild the public course into a top-level course. Late on Friday, officials told the court they planned to remove up to 529 trees; crews began cutting on Saturday. A Justice Department lawyer told the judge that 430 trees were felled, and the D.C. Preservation League, which is suing, said in a filing that all 529 came down.
In May, Reyes had told the government to give notice before it removed more than 10 trees. At a nearly four-hour hearing on Monday, she said the removals had cost the government "all of its credibility," the Washington Examiner reported. "You did your absolute worst," she told a Justice Department lawyer, CBS News reported.
Her new order also says officials must give three business days' written notice before any lasting change to the course. She ordered two senior park officials to testify about who approved the cutting; another hearing is set for Oct. 19.
An Interior Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner the work was part of a seven-year-old plan to deal with tree overgrowth. Lawyers for the preservation group said the order will stop "further irreparable harm to a precious public resource," CBS News reported.
What we know: No more trees can be cut at the course through Oct. 26, and top officials must testify.
What we don't: Exactly how many trees were felled, and whether the judge will find the government in contempt.
Where outlets agree CBS News and the Washington Examiner both report that Judge Reyes barred further tree removal at the course through Oct. 26.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.