Judge tears into Trump administration for felling trees on D.C. golf course the president wants to remake

A federal judge on Monday ripped the Trump administration for “inexcusable” gamesmanship after it removed hundreds of trees from a public golf course that the president said he wants to turn into “one of the greatest golf courses anywhere in the world” — a renovation plan being challenged in court.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said lawyers for the government had assured her the administration would give her ample warning if it planned any “irreversible” actions at East Potomac Golf Links, only to chop down over 400 trees on the course over the weekend without proper notice.

“I’m furious,” Reyes told attorneys from the Justice Department.

“I was hearing from everyone on plaintiffs’ side this was going to happen. I said repeatedly, ‘No, I trust the government.’ I trusted you all not to do precisely what you have done,” the judge said. She called the government’s actions “inexcusable.”

“What has happened has cost the government all of its credibility,” Reyes added.

An attorney for the government, Marissa Piropato, said it gave notice in a court filing shortly before 5 p.m. on Friday, the beginning of the three-day holiday weekend. The work began the next morning, with 430 trees being removed.

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business