Judge chastises Justice Department lawyers after hundreds of trees cut down at D.C. golf course

October 12, 2026 / 3:01 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — A federal judge on Monday rebuked the Justice Department after hundreds of trees were cut down at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., on Saturday with little notice, telling government lawyers that they have "lost credibility."

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes held a nearly four-hour virtual hearing Monday and ordered Kevin Griess, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, to testify under oath about what led to the felling of 430 trees at the course, which President Trump wants to overhaul. During the hearing, she also demanded Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the National Park Service, call-in to answer questions.

"I am at a total loss to understand what has happened here other than, Occam's Razor time, that the government intended to do precisely what it has done," which is delay informing the plaintiffs and the court of impending action so they could put a plan in place to raze hundreds of trees, Reyes told Marissa Piropato, a Justice Department lawyer.

The judge began the hearing telling Piropato she is "furious" and "thoroughly unamused right now."

Reyes extended a temporary order blocking the National…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/