联邦法官周一斥责特朗普政府律师，称其在周末砍伐东波托马克公园数百棵树之前未能提供足够的通知，表示她对政府的行为“感到极度失望”。美国地区法官阿纳·雷耶斯在紧急听证会上说：“我曾相信你们不会做你们所做的那件事。”她还说，政府在此案中已经“失去了所有可信度”。雷耶斯正在审理由华盛顿特区保护联盟和两名个人提起的诉讼，旨在阻止对该地块公共高尔夫球场的改造。
A federal judge scolded Trump administration lawyers on Monday for failing to provide sufficient notice before cutting down hundreds of trees in East Potomac Park over the weekend, saying she was “beyond disappointed” with the government’s conduct. “I trusted you all not to do precisely what you have done,” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said during an emergency hearing, adding that the government had lost “all of its credibility” in the case. Reyes is overseeing a lawsuit brought by the D.C. Preservation League and two individuals seeking to block an overhaul of the public golf courses on the property, which President Trump has said he wants converted into a championship-caliber course capable of hosting professional tournaments.
特朗普总统曾表示，他希望将该球场改造成能够举办职业赛事的冠军级球场。东波托马克公园内有三个高尔夫球场，其中包括一个提供优惠价格、每周服务数万名球员的18洞公共球场。该公园也是许多华盛顿特区居民和游客每年进行骑行、跑步和野餐的热门场所。近年来，该地块一直由国家链路信托（National Links Trust）运营，这是一家地方非营利组织，负责维护东波托马克的高尔夫球场，以及位于该地区东北侧的洛克克里克公园和兰斯顿两处其他物业。
East Potomac Park is home to three golf courses, including an 18-hole public facility that offers affordable rates and serves tens of thousands of players every week. It is also a popular biking, running and picnicking location for many district locals and tourists each year. The property for the last several years has been operated by the National Links Trust, a local nonprofit that had been charged with maintaining the golf course at East Potomac, plus two other properties at Rock Creek Park and Langston on the district’s northeast side.
特朗普政府对东波托马克公园的计划引发了当地社区活动人士的不安，他们指控政府在总统的指使下非法开发公共土地，并将此与白宫正在建造的舞厅以及阿灵顿波托马克河上巨型拱门的计划相比较。官员称，工人在周六作为恢复球场历史设计、符合2019年报告要求的一部分，从公园移除了大约430棵树。华盛顿特区保护联盟周日寻求紧急临时限制令，理由是高尔夫球场遭受了“不可逆转的损害”。
The Trump administration’s plans for East Potomac Park have roiled local community activists who contend the government is illegally redeveloping public land at the behest of the president, drawing comparisons to the ballroom he is constructing at the White House and plans for a massive arch across the Potomac River in Arlington. Workers removed roughly 430 trees from the park on Saturday as part of what officials described as an effort to restore the course to its historic design in line with a 2019 report. The D.C. Preservation League sought an emergency temporary restraining order on Sunday, citing "irreversible damage" to the golf course.
在听证会召开前，雷耶斯下令禁止国家公园管理局在周二东部时间凌晨7点之前对该地点开展任何施工工作。她警告称，若违反此命令将面临严重后果。这位由拜登任命的法官曾在5月份要求司法部律师，若计划砍伐10棵以上的树木或对该地点进行其他维护工作，必须事先通知相关保护组织。此前，已有数十棵被认定为枯死、濒临死亡或存在安全隐患的树木被移除。
Ahead of the hearing, Reyes barred the National Park Service (NPS) from conducting any further work on the site until at least 7 a.m. EDT Tuesday. She warned of serious consequences if that order is violated. The Biden-appointed judge told Justice Department (DOJ) lawyers in May that they must provide advance notice to the preservation group of any plans to cut down more than 10 trees or perform other maintenance on the site. Dozens of additional trees deemed dead, dying or hazardous had already been removed.
据法官透露，此次周六施工的通知仅在12小时前才发出。“我一直对政府抱以信任，且每次都明确要求必须提前通知，”雷耶斯说道，随后又表示自己对发生的情况“怒不可遏”。国家公园管理局国家广场及纪念公园区主管凯文·格里斯在宣誓后作证称，直到10月8日他才得知要实施树木砍伐的决定。司法部律师玛丽莎·皮罗帕托向法官表示，司法部并无故意向法庭隐瞒信息的意图，只是正在等待更多细节以便提交相关文件。“这些都不能作为借口，”雷耶斯强调。事件仍在发展中……
Notice of Saturday’s work came just 12 hours before, the judge said. “I have given the government the benefit of the doubt and every single time I have been clear that I wanted notice,” Reyes said, later adding that she was “furious” over what happened. Kevin Griess, the superintendent for National Mall and Memorial Parks in NPS, testified under oath that he was not notified of the decision to move forward with tree removal until Oct. 8. DOJ lawyer Marissa Piropato told the judge that there was “no conscious decision” to withhold information from the court, and insisted the department was merely waiting for more details before it submitted its filing. “None of that is an excuse,” Reyes said. DEVELOPING...