Judge continues to block Trump from cutting down trees at D.C. golf course

A national justice connected Monday barred the Trump medication from removing trees from East Potomac Golf Links successful Washington, D.C., successful a colorful ruling that follows a weekslong contention implicit President Trump's plans to overhaul the publically owned course.

"The Court earlier stated, 'I americium not the Lorax. I bash not talk for the trees,'" U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes wrote. "The Court inactive does not talk for the trees. It speaks lone for the regularisation of law."

In a 70-page preliminary injunction ruling, Reyes prohibited the authorities from "removing oregon damaging" immoderate trees connected the play people portion a suit challenging the renovation program works its mode done the tribunal system. The justice besides required 10 days' announcement earlier the authorities makes "any irreparable modification" to the course.

The justice had antecedently blocked histrion removal done Monday.

Mr. Trump has sought to overhaul the play people — which sits beside the Potomac River — for months, pitching a "World Class Championship Golf Course" acceptable to big high-profile nonrecreational tournaments alternatively of the existent "dysfunctional" course. The D.C. Preservation League sued implicit the planned changes to the course, arguing the authorities violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to analyse the project's impacts.

Reyes has sparred with the authorities since it cut down hundreds of trees earlier this period with small announcement to the tribunal oregon plaintiffs. In a proceeding 2 weeks ago, aft much than 430 trees were felled, the justice told lawyers for the authorities that they had "lost credibility," and she was "furious" and "thoroughly unamused."

Mr. Trump said past week the people would adjacent for operation opening successful November, and it would reopen successful 15 months. He aboriginal said enactment would begin "IMMEDIATELY."

In her ruling Monday, Reyes argued Mr. Trump's statements astir the renovation plans were pugnacious to quadrate with government lawyers' presumption that it's legally excessively aboriginal to situation the plans successful tribunal due to the fact that determination was nary last decision.

"Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a national tribunal not to judge the sitting President," she wrote. "This started arsenic a lawsuit astir golf. That bully locomotion spoiled. But it has go overmuch more. It present forces the Court to reconcile assertions by President Donald J. Trump with the sworn grounds of aggregate authorities employees and the statement of elder Department of Justice attorneys."

Reyes said she was initially reluctant to intervene successful the case, penning that she "would overmuch similar not to person to resoluteness Lorax v. Once‑ler redux" — a reference to an earlier tribunal hearing successful which Reyes invoked the Dr. Seuss quality to explicate wherefore she wasn't funny successful micromanaging the national government's histrion absorption efforts.

She said she lone intervened "because the Government did what it assured each it would not do," by chopping down hundreds of trees connected the play course.

Reyes recovered that the D.C. Preservation League is apt to win successful showing the Trump administration's plans for the play people interruption the ineligible request for an biology review.

She besides recovered that the tree-cutting efforts were portion of the renovation plan. 

The justice said she did not find statements by the Department of Interior's lawman main of unit to beryllium credible, including his statement of the agency's histrion absorption program arsenic "cleaning up" the course.

CBS News has reached retired to the Justice Department and the Department of Interior for comment.

Mr. Trump has feuded with Reyes, calling her a "crazed lunatic."

Earlier this month, the Trump medication asked Reyes to recuse herself from the case, arguing that she had shown "open hostility" to the authorities and that her "histrionics successful anterior hearings person intelligibly demonstrated she is nary longer impartial."

"To sanction conscionable a fewer examples of bias, Judge Reyes has unfairly questioned Trump Administration attorneys' intelligence, allowed her disdain for the Trump Administration to power however hearings unfold, and systematically disregarded basal separation of powers principles and Article III constraints connected judicial authority," authorities attorneys wrote.

Reyes rejected that request and denied that she is biased, listing retired compliments that she has paid authorities lawyers.

"So what happened? Not abrupt onset bias," Reyes wrote successful her denial. "Instead, the Government decided to region implicit 500 healthy, non-invasive trees from East Potomac Golf Course. It waited until 4:55 p.m. connected the Friday of a vacation play to springiness announcement that it would statesman removing trees wrong 15 hours. It removed astir 430 trees successful 1 time and would person destroyed hundreds much but for a rainfall delay."