Trump rips Pirro decision as DOJ looks to drop Reflecting Pool case: 'I don't agree'
The Hill · C · trust 66/100
Comments: by Joshua Feldstein - 08/01/26 1:57 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Joshua Feldstein - 08/01/26 1:57 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING President Trump called out U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Saturday for agreeing to dismiss the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case against former Olympian David Hearn.
The Justice Department moved to drop the case on Friday, finding that the damage to the tidal basin resulted from a “rushed and botched installation,” not alleged vandalism. Trump a day later distanced himself from that decision.
“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass, which had a big 86 47 emblazoned in giant letters on it, and other elements of the surrounding area.”
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also posted on the social platform X calling out the ruling and that vandals “repeatedly” damaged the Reflecting Pool.
“The evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool. Some of these acts were even caught on camera,” Burgum posted. “We also provided the U.S. Attorney’s office expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals and provided every piece of evidence they asked for in the requested time line detailing each area of damage at the pool.”
“Intentional damage done to the Reflecting Pool is no different than defacing any one of our other national monuments. We won’t back down to deranged people who want to destroy, deface, or degrade our monuments,” Burgum continued.
Hearn was indicted earlier this month after prosecutors said he “forcefully and violently” ripped the bottom liner of the pool but pleaded not guilty to the felony charge of destruction of property.
Pirro’s office noted in its filing that the pool’s issues were a result of over spraying and delamination.
“Specifically, the newly released documents reveal that work on installing the lining almost immediately fell behind, due to a combination of very rainy and windy weather, repeated failures of testing on the sealing of the expansion joints, and delays in obtaining sealing product at the worksite,” prosecutors wrote in the filing.
The administration faced heavy scrutiny over the project after the “American flag blue” paint began to peel and an algae bloom formed in the basin. It was drained more than once since the renovation began for repairs .
Trump in his latest post did not dismiss the issues but maintained his argument that Hearn was responsible for some of the damage.
“There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS,” he wrote.
In a separate post, the president shared a video of the alleged incident, stating that the “material is being cut with a knife or a box cutter, for all to see!”
Prosecutors on Friday noted that the section Hearn was accused of tampering with was not in the area where the vandalism likely occurred. It was also reported that a National Park Service engineer raised concerns about peeling days before the ex-Olympian was arrested.
“Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt,” prosecutors wrote.
The Reflecting Pool renovations were part of the president’s efforts to improve Washington D.C. in honor of America’s 250th anniversary.
The final decision on Hearn’s charges will be left to the judge overseeing the case.
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