Washington
Judge hears testimony in legal fight over Trump’s golf course renovation plans
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday questioned the Trump administration’s claims surrounding its efforts to redevelop a historic Washington golf course, challenging its contention that a recent tree-cutting spree did not indicate work was moving forward on the project, which is temporarily blocked by a court order.
“There is no universe in which all of this coincidentally happened all at the same time,” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said during a hearing over the fate of a project that has emerged as the latest legal flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s campaign to leave his personal imprint on the nation’s capital.
Reyes last week ordered a halt to the golf course’s redevelopment plans until at least Oct. 26 after scolding the government for starting a large-scale tree removal at the course over a holiday weekend while providing little notice to the court or the plaintiffs trying to stop the makeover.
Then, on Sunday, Trump announced plans on social media to close the golf course for 15 months, starting on Nov. 15, and redevelop the 106-year-old park and course despite a court challenge by the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers. In a post on Monday, Trump said the work would start immediately.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys challenging the golf course renovation work have asked Reyes to extend her order that temporarily paused the work. They say the work is inflicting irreversible damage and that the redevelopment would violate the congressional act that created the park where the course is located.
The hearings on the century-old golf course have grown increasingly tense and on the eve of Monday’s hearing, Reyes rejected the administration’s request for her to recuse herself from the case. The government questioned her impartiality and accused her of engaging in “egregious” behavior from the bench during last week’s emergency hearing for the case.
Trump, a Republican, referred to Reyes as a “crazed lunatic” in his social media post on Monday.
“The United States Department of Interior wants to take a terrible and very unsafe golf course, and make it into a great, safe, and prestigious golf course. They have an absolute right to do so. It’s as simple as that!” Trump wrote.
Reyes, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, said the government has failed “by any objective measure” to demonstrate the need for her recusal from the case.
“It is easy to weaponize selective quotations to bring a baseless recusal motion. But it is much harder to meet the demanding legal standard against a full record,” she wrote.
Trump has pledged to turn the course into a world-class golf venue — part of his grand vision for Washington, D.C., where he has torn down storied structures, remade or renamed others and deployed the National Guard for more than a year.
While it has been open to Washingtonians of all income levels, opponents of Trump’s plans for the golf course have argued it will alter the character of the space and make it less affordable to people.
Monday’s hearing started with a tense confrontation between Reyes and Justice Department official Stanley Woodward, when the judge asked if other any government attorneys in the room “as officers of the court” were willing to certify that everything within a Sunday filing was truthful and legally sound under federal rules of civil procedures.
In that filing Woodward argued that there were no final plans for the park.
“First, the plan is not final because the Park Service has not completed its review and the details of the proposal are subject to change during the review process,” the filing said.
Much of the hearing revolved around Trump’s social media posts over the weekend and his appearance last June at the golf course, accompanied by golf course architects and members of the administration and why there was such a sense of urgency for the cutting of the trees.
The witnesses at the hearing, Greg Wischer, deputy chief of staff at the Interior Department, and acting National Park Service director Jessica Bowron both acknowledged that they had only learned of the National Park Service Cultural Landscape Report in September that led to the tree cutting. That report was from 2019.
Cuba
Cuba says U.S.-based suspects confessed in armed incursion
HAVANA (AP) — A group of men captured in February after attempting to enter Cuba by force from the United States have confessed and cooperated with investigators, Cuban authorities said Monday, adding that forensic examinations found the seized weapons and explosives were powerful and operational.
The men could face terrorism-related charges involving deadly devices and explosives under Cuba’s penal code, Col. Francisco Estrada Portales, an official with the Interior Ministry’s State Security department, told The Associated Press.
The offenses can carry the death penalty, but Estrada said prosecutors had not yet requested specific sentences. Cuba has not carried out an execution in decades.
A speedboat carrying 10 men of Cuban origin from the United States attempted to enter Cuban waters on Feb. 25 and opened fire on a Cuban coast guard vessel that tried to intercept it, authorities said. Three of the attackers were killed in the confrontation, and a fourth later died of his injuries. The boat was about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off Cuba’s northern coast.
The captain of the Cuban coast guard vessel was wounded. Authorities also reported arresting a person on land who allegedly provided support to the group.
The incident came as tensions between Cuba and the United States intensified, with Washington imposing energy restrictions on the island as part of its campaign to force a change in government and not ruling out military action.
Cuba’s Interior Ministry previously displayed weapons and equipment seized from the group, including rifles, handguns, explosives, backpacks containing clothing, uniforms, boots, helmets, medical supplies, food, an electric generator, satellite communications equipment and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Estrada said the suspects’ confessions and cooperation helped investigators determine that Amijail Sánchez, a Cuban who has lived in the United States since 2016, fired the first shots. Sánchez, who is in custody, was included on a list of alleged terrorists that Cuba submitted to the United Nations last year.
Another detained suspect, Leordan Cruz, also appears on Cuba’s terrorism list.
Cuban authorities showed AP video recordings of statements made by the suspects. AP could not independently verify the contents of the recordings or the circumstances under which the statements were made.
In one recording, Cruz said the group intended to secure an area and encourage Cubans to overthrow the government.
Estrada said Cuban authorities had shared their findings with the United States but had received no response as of Monday.
Judge hears testimony in legal fight over Trump’s golf course renovation plans
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday questioned the Trump administration’s claims surrounding its efforts to redevelop a historic Washington golf course, challenging its contention that a recent tree-cutting spree did not indicate work was moving forward on the project, which is temporarily blocked by a court order.
“There is no universe in which all of this coincidentally happened all at the same time,” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said during a hearing over the fate of a project that has emerged as the latest legal flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s campaign to leave his personal imprint on the nation’s capital.
Reyes last week ordered a halt to the golf course’s redevelopment plans until at least Oct. 26 after scolding the government for starting a large-scale tree removal at the course over a holiday weekend while providing little notice to the court or the plaintiffs trying to stop the makeover.
Then, on Sunday, Trump announced plans on social media to close the golf course for 15 months, starting on Nov. 15, and redevelop the 106-year-old park and course despite a court challenge by the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers. In a post on Monday, Trump said the work would start immediately.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys challenging the golf course renovation work have asked Reyes to extend her order that temporarily paused the work. They say the work is inflicting irreversible damage and that the redevelopment would violate the congressional act that created the park where the course is located.
The hearings on the century-old golf course have grown increasingly tense and on the eve of Monday’s hearing, Reyes rejected the administration’s request for her to recuse herself from the case. The government questioned her impartiality and accused her of engaging in “egregious” behavior from the bench during last week’s emergency hearing for the case.
Trump, a Republican, referred to Reyes as a “crazed lunatic” in his social media post on Monday.
“The United States Department of Interior wants to take a terrible and very unsafe golf course, and make it into a great, safe, and prestigious golf course. They have an absolute right to do so. It’s as simple as that!” Trump wrote.
Reyes, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, said the government has failed “by any objective measure” to demonstrate the need for her recusal from the case.
“It is easy to weaponize selective quotations to bring a baseless recusal motion. But it is much harder to meet the demanding legal standard against a full record,” she wrote.
Trump has pledged to turn the course into a world-class golf venue — part of his grand vision for Washington, D.C., where he has torn down storied structures, remade or renamed others and deployed the National Guard for more than a year.
While it has been open to Washingtonians of all income levels, opponents of Trump’s plans for the golf course have argued it will alter the character of the space and make it less affordable to people.
Monday’s hearing started with a tense confrontation between Reyes and Justice Department official Stanley Woodward, when the judge asked if other any government attorneys in the room “as officers of the court” were willing to certify that everything within a Sunday filing was truthful and legally sound under federal rules of civil procedures.
In that filing Woodward argued that there were no final plans for the park.
“First, the plan is not final because the Park Service has not completed its review and the details of the proposal are subject to change during the review process,” the filing said.
Much of the hearing revolved around Trump’s social media posts over the weekend and his appearance last June at the golf course, accompanied by golf course architects and members of the administration and why there was such a sense of urgency for the cutting of the trees.
The witnesses at the hearing, Greg Wischer, deputy chief of staff at the Interior Department, and acting National Park Service director Jessica Bowron both acknowledged that they had only learned of the National Park Service Cultural Landscape Report in September that led to the tree cutting. That report was from 2019.
Cuba
Cuba says U.S.-based suspects confessed in armed incursion
HAVANA (AP) — A group of men captured in February after attempting to enter Cuba by force from the United States have confessed and cooperated with investigators, Cuban authorities said Monday, adding that forensic examinations found the seized weapons and explosives were powerful and operational.
The men could face terrorism-related charges involving deadly devices and explosives under Cuba’s penal code, Col. Francisco Estrada Portales, an official with the Interior Ministry’s State Security department, told The Associated Press.
The offenses can carry the death penalty, but Estrada said prosecutors had not yet requested specific sentences. Cuba has not carried out an execution in decades.
A speedboat carrying 10 men of Cuban origin from the United States attempted to enter Cuban waters on Feb. 25 and opened fire on a Cuban coast guard vessel that tried to intercept it, authorities said. Three of the attackers were killed in the confrontation, and a fourth later died of his injuries. The boat was about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off Cuba’s northern coast.
The captain of the Cuban coast guard vessel was wounded. Authorities also reported arresting a person on land who allegedly provided support to the group.
The incident came as tensions between Cuba and the United States intensified, with Washington imposing energy restrictions on the island as part of its campaign to force a change in government and not ruling out military action.
Cuba’s Interior Ministry previously displayed weapons and equipment seized from the group, including rifles, handguns, explosives, backpacks containing clothing, uniforms, boots, helmets, medical supplies, food, an electric generator, satellite communications equipment and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Estrada said the suspects’ confessions and cooperation helped investigators determine that Amijail Sánchez, a Cuban who has lived in the United States since 2016, fired the first shots. Sánchez, who is in custody, was included on a list of alleged terrorists that Cuba submitted to the United Nations last year.
Another detained suspect, Leordan Cruz, also appears on Cuba’s terrorism list.
Cuban authorities showed AP video recordings of statements made by the suspects. AP could not independently verify the contents of the recordings or the circumstances under which the statements were made.
In one recording, Cruz said the group intended to secure an area and encourage Cubans to overthrow the government.
Estrada said Cuban authorities had shared their findings with the United States but had received no response as of Monday.
