Judge Ana Reyes rejects recusal bid and presses Trump officials over East Potomac golf course trees

What happened

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes on Monday sharply questioned the Trump administration's explanation for clearing hundreds of trees at East Potomac Golf Links, a public course on National Park Service land in Washington, a day after she refused a Justice Department request that she withdraw from the case, according to ABC News and other outlets that covered the hearing. ^{[1] [3]}

During the Oct. 19 evidentiary hearing, Reyes said there was "no universe" in which the timing of the tree removal was coincidental, according to live accounts by Lawfare and Law Dork. ABC News reported she said there appeared to be a strong showing of bad faith in the government's reliance on a 2019 landscape report. Lawfare's account also quoted her saying she might not need to find bad faith at all, and that the witnesses may simply have repeated what they were told. ^{[2] [3] [1]}

The case and the parties

The lawsuit, DC Preservation League v. Department of the Interior, was filed in February by the preservation group and two golfers who regularly use the course, Law Dork reported. The defendants include the Interior Department and the National Park Service. Plaintiffs' lawyers include Norm Eisen and Abbe Lowell, according to Lawfare. ^{[3] [2]}

The plaintiffs are challenging the administration's plan to turn the historic course into a championship-caliber layout. The government says the October tree removals carried out a 2019 Park Service plan to remove dead, dying and hazardous trees and were separate from any redesign, according to ABC News and Fox News. ^{[1] [6]}

How the dispute escalated

The government told the court on Friday, Oct. 9, that tree cutting would begin the next day, and hundreds of trees came down on Oct. 10, according to Law Dork's timeline. At an emergency hearing on Oct. 12, Reyes berated government lawyers over the short notice, Fox News reported, and on Oct. 13 she issued a temporary restraining order barring further tree removal. ^{[3] [6]}

On Oct. 16, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr., the department's third-ranking official, filed a motion signed only by him that accused Reyes of bias and hostility toward the administration, Talking Points Memo reported. Reyes denied it on the evening of Oct. 18, writing that the government failed "by any objective measure" to meet the standard for recusal, according to ABC News. ^{[5] [1]}

The same weekend, Trump posted that the course would close on Nov. 15 for about 15 months. Reyes then asked whether the government still maintained there was no final agency action; a filing signed by Woodward said its position had not changed, Talking Points Memo and Fox News reported. Hours before Monday's hearing, Trump called Reyes a "crazed lunatic" on Truth Social, according to Fox News. ^{[5] [4]}

Testimony and orders at the hearing

Reyes heard from Interior Department deputy chief of staff Gregory Wischer, acting Park Service Director Jessica Bowron and Park Service superintendent Kevin Griess, according to Lawfare. Law Dork reported that Wischer acknowledged receiving renovation renderings on his personal phone from Trump allies outside government. ^{[2] [3]}

A dispute over why no other Justice Department lawyer had signed Woodward's filings took up part of the day. Woodward said he would instruct department lawyers not to answer the question, and Reyes ordered him to file a brief explaining the legal basis, ABC News reported. Fox News and Lawfare reported that she later dropped her demand that the filing be resubmitted with its signers identified. ^{[1] [4] [2]}

Reyes also directed witnesses to preserve records and turn off auto-delete on their devices, and gave the government until noon Tuesday to brief whether the presence of outside parties at a meeting waived executive privilege, according to Lawfare. ^[2]

What comes next

Reyes did not rule from the bench on the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction. Law Dork reported she signaled she was inclined to bar more tree cutting and require substantial advance notice before significant action, while Lawfare quoted her saying she was "very unlikely" to halt everything. No date for a written ruling had been reported as of Tuesday evening. ^{[3] [2]}

The Justice Department argues that Trump's social media posts are not final agency action that a court can review under the Administrative Procedure Act, according to Law Dork. Whether the administration's Nov. 15 start date holds is likely to depend on how Reyes rules and on any appeal that follows. ^{[3] [1]}