在另一场马拉松式庭审中，联邦法官在总统唐纳德·特朗普宣布计划立即翻新华盛顿特区的一处公共高尔夫球场并将其改造成冠军级球场后，数小时盘问司法部律师。
In another marathon court session, a federal judge grilled Justice Department lawyers for hours after President Donald Trump announced plans to immediately overhaul a public golf course in Washington, D.C., and transform it into a championship-style course.
就在一周内就此事进行的第二场数小时长的听证会上，美国地区法官安娜·雷耶斯似乎倾向于无限期阻止特朗普政府移除东波托马克高尔夫球场的任何树木，并在进行任何更改前要求提前三天通知。
In the second hourslong hearing on the matter in a week, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes appeared inclined to indefinitely block the Trump administration from removing any trees from the East Potomac golf course and require three days’ notice before making any changes.
雷耶斯在政府于最近一个假期周末突然砍伐数百棵树之后要求举行此次听证会。
Reyes called for the hearings after the government abruptly chopped down hundreds of trees over a recent holiday weekend.
尽管雷耶斯此次表现得比上周听证会时更为平和，但紧张气氛仍然存在，雷耶斯对政府对高尔夫球场的夷为平地表示不满。
While Reyes appeared more even-tempered than in last week’s hearing tensions remained high as Reyes expressed frustration with the government’s razing of the golf course.
她说：“我们现在就是这个情况，我现在就告诉你，我认为这些树木的砍伐并不是因为2019年《文化景观报告']。唯一被执行的2019年计划部分就是砍伐树木，这背后一定有原因。”
“We are where we are, I’m telling you right now, I don’t think those trees were cut down because of the 2019 [Cultural Landscape Report],” she said. “There is a reason that the only part of a 2019 plan that was executed involved cutting down trees.”
今年早些时候，在有关特朗普对球场计划的报道中，一个保护团体和当地高尔夫球手的联盟提起了诉讼。如今，原告要求雷耶斯阻止特朗普政府在未提前充分通知他们的情况下进行任何更改——哪怕只是砍伐一棵树。他们还要求，如果政府计划关闭球场，也应给予同样的提前通知。
A coalition of a preservationist group and local golfers filed a lawsuit earlier this year amid reports of Trump’s plans for the course. Now, the plaintiffs are asking Reyes to block the Trump administration from making any changes — including chopping a single tree — without giving them and the judge adequate notice. They are also asking for that same notice if the government plans to close the course.
“被告一直在说一套做一套：坚称他们没有计划毁掉东波托马克公园高尔夫球场，”原告在法庭文件中写道，“但他们一直在分步实施该计划。”“树木清除行动正是该计划的一步——被告将其从计划其他部分中分离出来，以规避[《国家环境政策法》]，确保在本法院有机会干预之前，该计划就成为既成事实。”原告进一步补充道。
“Defendants have been saying one thing and doing another: insisting that there is no plan to destroy East Potomac Park Golf Course,” the plaintiffs wrote in a court filing“But all the while implementing that plan piecemeal.”“The tree-clearing operation was yet another step in that plan — one that Defendants segmented from the rest of the plan to circumvent [the National Environmental Policy Act] and ensure it would become a fait accompli before this Court had an opportunity to intervene,” the plaintiffs added.
周一的听证会上，雷耶斯听取了内政部高级官员和国家公园管理局官员关于政府对该高尔夫球场意图的论点和证词。
In a hearing Monday, Reyes heard arguments and testimony from top Interior Department officials and the National Park Service about the government’s intentions for the course.
此次听证会是在特朗普于社交媒体上宣布将于下月开始关闭并彻底改造该高尔夫球场的详细计划一天后举行的。政府在法庭上一直主张目前尚无最终的翻修计划。
The hearing happened one day after Trump announced on social media detailed plans to close and completely overhaul the golf course beginning next month. The government has argued in court that there are no final plans for renovation yet.
政府一再主张，砍伐树木是2019年为将球场恢复至原始设计而制定计划的一部分。但原告方认为，树木的移除仅是在此时发生，作为特朗普支持的重建计划的一部分，该计划将迫使球场关闭，使其对曾经服务的多元社区变得不可及。
The government has repeatedly argued that the tree chopping was part of a 2019 plan to restore the course to its original design. But the plaintiffs contend that the tree removal is only happening now as part of the Trump-backed reconstruction plan that will force the closure of the course and make it unattainable to the diverse communities it had served.
总统似乎对法庭程序毫不在意，周末时他表示，球场目前的状态是“完全杂草丛生、功能失效且不安全”。他宣布，新设计的工作将于11月开始，球场将大约在15个月后完成。周一早上，总统进一步坚持立场，宣布施工时间表将“立即”开始。内政部的一位高级官员和国家公园管理局的代理局长作证称，他们对关闭球场并开始翻修的确切计划一无所知。
The president remains seemingly unfazed by the court proceedings, over the weekend that the course in its current state is “completely overgrown, dysfunctional, and unsafe.”He announced that work on a new design will begin in November and that the course will reroximately 15 months. On Monday morning, the president doubled down, announcing the timeline of the construction would commence “immediately.”Both a top Interior Department official and the acting director of the National Park Service testified they had no knowledge of firm plans to close the course and begin renovations.
证人的证词几乎没有回答关于突然砍伐数百棵树的决策过程的问题。许多答案仍然受到律师-客户特权的保护。
The witnesses’ testimony did little to answer questions surrounding the decision-making process to abruptly chop down hundreds of trees. Many of those answers remained shielded by attorney-client privilege.
代表政府的律师一直主张目前尚无球场翻修的最终计划。雷耶斯对此提出质疑，指出她在法庭上所听到的内容与特朗普在公开场合所说的内容之间存在差异。
Lawyers representing the government have argued there is no final plan for the golf course renovation. Reyes pushed back on those arguments, pointing to the difference between what she is hearing in the courtroom and what Trump says in public.
“那么我该相信谁，是美国总统，还是相信你？”她向代表政府的律师罗伯特·斯坦德（Robert Stander）问道。
“So who do I believe, the president of the United States, or do I believe you?” she asked Robert Stander, a lawyer representing the government.
斯坦德没有直接回答雷耶斯的问题，但此前曾肯定表示：“该机构的立场是没有最终计划。”
Stander did not answer Reyes directly but had earlier affirmed that “The agency’s position is that there is no final plan.”
在听证会接近尾声时，雷耶斯曾下令亲自出庭的副司法部长斯坦利·伍德沃德告诉她：“没有计划在11月15日关闭球场。”虽然原告一直将焦点集中在砍伐树木的问题上，但他们也谈到了彻底改造所造成的危害。
Toward the end of the hearing, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, whom Reyes had ordered to appear in person, told her, “There is no plan to close the course on November 15.”While the plaintiffs remained narrowly focused on the tree-cutting issue, they also spoke about the harm of a complete overhaul.
“我们的当事人所质疑的是现有球场的毁坏，”代表提起诉讼的联盟的律师马克·桑伯格说。“他们对现有球场有感情。”东波托马克高尔夫球场的设计初衷是便于使用，旨在服务于多元社区和普通高尔夫球手。他们认为特朗普对球场的计划将移除这种便利性。
“What our clients are challenging is the destruction of the current course,” Mark Samburg, a lawyer representing the coalition that brought the lawsuit, said. “They are attached to the existing course.”East Potomac Golf Links was designed with accessibility in mind, to serve both diverse communities and the average golfer. They argue Trump’s plans for the course would remove that accessibility.
桑伯格表示，告诉这些业余高尔夫球手他们可以在这条新球场上打球，就像告诉他们可以在芬威球场打“即兴垒球”一样。雷耶斯表示，该项目不仅仅是简单的重新设计，因为社区成员与球场有着深厚的联系。
Samburg said telling these amateur golfers they could play on this new course would be like telling them they could play “pickup softball at Fenway.”Reyes said the project is not just a simple redesign because of the ties community members have with the course.
“我们正在谈论一座历史悠久的高尔夫球场，一个对该地区人民具有深刻意义的地方，并且作为历史遗址受到保护，”她说。
“We are talking about a historic golf course, a place that has deep meaning to the people of the district, and is protected as a historic land site,” she said.
雷耶斯已经发布了一项紧急命令，阻止政府砍伐树木，并要求在对球场进行任何“不可逆的修改”之前提前三天通知。该命令将持续有效至10月26日。在这项命令中，她对政府的行为表达了深深的沮丧。
Reyes has already issued an emergency order blocking the government from felling trees and mandating they give three days’ notice before making any “irreparable modification” to the course. That order will remain in effect through Oct. 26. In that order, she expressed deep frustration with the government for its actions.
“以惊人的速度砍伐本无害的树木。原因？有争议。预算？不清楚。环境影响？未研究。紧迫性？没有。下一步：再推土机铲除数百棵树。”她写道。
“Breakneck speed to clear trees that posed no harm. The reason? Disputed. The budget? Unclear. The environmental impact? Unstudied. The urgency? None. Next steps: bulldoze hundreds more,” she wrote.
这项临时禁令标志着雷耶斯（Reyes）首次正式阻止政府对该高尔夫球场采取任何行动。在整个诉讼过程中，她一直拒绝批准任何限制政府行为的禁令，而是选择相信政府会在事先通知她的情况下再采取行动。
That temporary order marked the first time Reyes formally blocked the government from taking action with regard to the golf course. Throughout the lawsuit, she has resisted granting injunctions, instead choosing to trust that the government would not act without first informing her. In a hearing in July, she reiterated her request.
在7月份的一次听证会上，她再次表达了这一要求：“我从未下令禁止任何人进行任何建设活动；我只是要求如果他们计划砍伐超过10棵树的话，请务必提前通知我们，这样原告们如果有需要的话还可以及时采取行动。”她补充说：“我希望在树木被大规模砍伐、且这种破坏行为无法挽回之前，政府能先通知我们，让我们有时间做出反应。”
“I have not ordered anyone not to build something,” Reyes said. “All I have asked was if more than ten trees are going to be chopped down, please let us know, so if plaintiffs want to move they can.”“I want you to tell them basically before things start getting chopped down in a massive way that’s irretrievable and we’re basically like we’re moving forward,” Reyes added. “I want them to have time to come back to me.”
然而，这种信任在本月初被打破了——政府突然宣布计划砍伐高尔夫球场上的500多棵树。该公告是在一个假期前的周五下午4点55分发布的。特朗普政府在雷耶斯或原告们尚未作出任何回应的情况下，于次日清晨就开始砍伐树木。
But that trust was broken earlier this month, when the government abruptly announced it planned to chop more than 500 trees from the golf course. That announcement was filed at 4:55 p.m. on the Friday before a holiday weekend. The Trump administration began felling trees the following morning before Reyes or the plaintiffs could respond.
这一破坏性行为促使雷耶斯立即向政府下达了限制令，并召开了紧急听证会。
That razing prompted Reyes to grant an immediate restraining order against the government and call an emergency hearing.
在上周持续了四小时的听证会上，气氛变得异常紧张。雷耶斯愤怒至极，她指责政府无视她的指示、拒绝及时通知她：“我对政府感到极度失望。在这起案件中，我已经尽了一切可能去相信政府会遵守规定；这样的行为实在令人无法接受。”听证会上，她听取了两位国家公园管理局高级官员的陈述，试图弄清楚政府为何如此急于砍伐这些树木。
During that four-hour hearing last week, the temperature reached a boiling point. Reyes was livid, yelling at the government for defying her directive to keep her informed. “I am just beyond disappointed in the government,” Reyes said. “I have done everything humanly possible to give the government the benefit of the doubt in this case. I have done it for months.”Reyes heard testimony from two top National Park Service officials, seeking to understand why there had been such urgency to remove hundreds of trees.
当被问及树木移除是否紧迫时，国家广场和纪念公园总监凯文·格里思回应道：“据我所知，没有。” “所以这些树可能明天就被砍掉，或者一个月后才被砍掉，从政府的角度来看，这基本上是一样的？”雷耶斯问道。“我所了解到的情况是，法官大人，是的，”格里思回应道。
When asked if there was an urgency for the tree removal, Kevin Griess, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, responded, “Not that I’m aware of.”“So the trees could be cut down tomorrow, or they could be cut down in a month from now, and from the government’s perspective, it’s basically the same?”Reyes asked. “From what I understand, Your Honor, yes,” Griess responded.
她对他们关于紧迫性的解释感到不满，且无法联系到内政部的高级官员，于是结束了此次听证会。但她并未结束调查。她要求政府将这位内政部领导人 — 以及任何其他相关政府官员 — 带回她的法庭，以便她能够彻底查明砍伐数百棵树的决定背后的真相。
Unsatisfied with their explanations about the urgency and unable to reach a top Interior Department official, she concluded that hearing. But she did not conclude her investigation. She demanded the government bring that Interior Department leader — and any other relevant government officials — back into her courtroom so she could get to the bottom of the decision to chop hundreds of trees.
“有人会向我解释这一点，”雷耶斯说。“因为这完全超出了常理。” 在全天听证会结束时，雷耶斯离开法庭时发表了严肃的声明。她表示，她的家人告知她，有一家新闻机构报道称她因此案正在收到死亡威胁。法庭顿时陷入沉默。
“Someone is going to explain that to me,” Reyes said. “Because this is totally beyond the pale.”At the end of the full-day hearing, Reyes left the courtroom with a stern announcement. She had indicated her family had informed her a news organization had reported she was receiving death threats because of this case. The room fell silent.
“联邦法官竟然因为一座高尔夫球场而收到死亡威胁，”雷耶斯说。“我真的不认为这是开国元勋所设想的。”
“That a federal judge is getting death threats over a golf course,” Reyes said. “I really don’t think that’s what the founders envisioned.”The post The president says a D.C. golf course is about to be overhauled — but that is not what his lawyers are telling a judge MS NOW