A federal judge on Monday said she was “furious” with the Trump administration’s move over the weekend to cut down at least 430 trees from a Washington, DC, public golf course that President Donald Trump is seeking to renovate.

US District Judge Ana Reyes, who is overseeing a legal challenge to Trump’s plans to overhaul the East Potomac Golf Course, put a tentative hold on any further tree removal and is holding an emergency hearing Monday, in which she told Justice Department attorneys they had lost “credibility” with her because they gave less than a day’s notice before cutting down the trees.

“More than just being upset and furious right now, I am just beyond disappointed with the government,” Reyes said. When a DOJ attorney said they had done their “best” to give her and the plaintiffs a heads-up, the judge said, her voice raised, “No, you did your absolute worst.”

“I am thoroughly unamused right now,” Reyes also said.

  • CIA_chatbot@lemmy.world
    113·
    28 days ago

    I would LOVE if the thing that brought Trump down was Tree Law. It won’t happen but everything is so ridiculous thee could just be a chance

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.worldEnglish
    30·
    28 days ago

    she told Justice Department attorneys they had lost “credibility” with her

    This inJustice Department had any credibility with her?

    Why? It is run by donnie’s personal lawyer, FFS. And before that, it was Pam Blondi.

    • mkwt@lemmy.world
      6·
      28 days ago

      This inJustice Department had any credibility with her?

      There is a legal principle established by case law called the “presumption of regularity.” By precedent, Judge Reyes is required to presume that the government lawyers are being credible and straight up with her

      Regardless of whatever she personally believes, she is putting them on notice that they have now lost that presumption through their behavior.

  • Gpennyhigh@lemmy.world
    20·
    27 days ago

    And they get away with it by doing first and get scolded after and laugh it off as no punishment for them.

  • HorreC@lemmy.world
    11·
    28 days ago

    I dont know, Hold someone accountable. Use the contempt ability, put people in jail. You can be mad and stomp your feet like a 3 year old all you want, how about actions.

  • leadore@lemmy.world
    9·
    27 days ago

    The whole raison d’être of this regime is to tear down and destroy everything people value, partly to demoralize and for their own feeling of power, but especially destroying the democratic system to make way for the techno-fascist oligarchs’ takeover of the government.

    BUT the people can take advantage of this situation and co-opt their tearing down of the neoliberal order, to replace it with democratic socialism instead. It can happen.

    Check this video from Literate Machine on how (it also has a link to the written version in the description if you prefer to read instead of watch)

    • Madison420@lemmy.world
      1·
      27 days ago

      I mean this one is more transparent, he wants to transfer ownership to himself before he leaves office and he wants the bulk of the remodel to happen before that time.

  • Optional@lemmy.world
    8·
    27 days ago

    She demanded that two National Park Service officials appear at the virtual hearing, which lasted more than three hours, to testify about how the plans to remove the trees came to be. The project came out of an October 5 meeting, one of the officials testified, during which the official was told to carry out a seven-year-old proposal seeking to restore the course’s “cultural” heritage.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
    8·
    27 days ago

    There’s this golf course that used to be Trump Links that I drive past once in a while. It’s “Bally Links” now, but it’s ugly AF. No trees. I think it was landfill that got converted, they probably can’t grow anything with deep roots there because plastic and toxic waste under it. Soon as I saw this article this is the golf dump I thought of.

  • MehBlah@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    27 days ago

    Trump cares nothing for the world beyond what he wants. He would kill billions of us without ever feeling bad. What are some old trees to him?

  • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    26 days ago

    you ever seen a bunch of kids sharing a toy and having fun?

    and theres one kid off in the corner watching them?

    and then he gets up, runs over, grabs the toy, and smashes it?

    People like that make up the entirety of trumps cabinet.