Judge bars U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro from charging ex-Olympian in Reflecting Pool case
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Judge Todd Edelman entered an order on Thursday that dismissed the case with prejudice. Edelman cited the “ exceptional circumstances ” of the case and said the government’s “own representations make plain” that bringing another indictment against David “Davey” Hearn “is theoretical at best, and more likely, is simply fanciful.”
Trump, Edelman wrote, “has criticized the decision of the Office of the United States Attorney to drop the case in the most vituperative terms; demanded that the government reinstitute the prosecution, in part because of Mr. Hearn’s political activity and the identity of one of his attorneys; and publicly entertained the possibility of firing the United States Attorney as a result of the dismissal.”
Hearn, Edelman wrote, “faces the unique possibility that the government will revive this case — one that it has already announced to be meritless — based on political pressure brought by the President of the United States upon his subordinate officers.” The government “has no right to retain the ability to compound the errors it has already made, or even to threaten to do so, at Mr. Hearn’s expense,” Edelman wrote.
Trump had lashed out at Hearn over political donations and because one of his lawyers, Norm Eisen, has been a longtime Trump critic involved in many legal battles against the administration.
Eisen and Hearn’s other attorneys — Mary Dohrmann, Steve Levin and Michael Bromwich — said in a joint statement that the decision “is a victory for the rule of law and for an innocent American seeking justice” and said the case never should have been brought in the first place.
“This was a miscarriage of justice, and what happened to Mr. Hearn is an outrage that should shock every American,” they wrote. “This administration chose to pursue an unjust prosecution against Mr. Hearn. It should not get repeated chances to wield the power of criminal prosecution against someone who should never have been prosecuted. Today’s decision protects Mr. Hearn from that threat, allowing him to move forward with his life as he deserves.”
Pirro’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Attorneys for Hearn and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia sparred in court last month over whether Hearn’s Reflecting Pool case should be dismissed with prejudice, meaning prosecutors would be barred from bringing another case against him. At the center of much of the discussion: Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on Pirro’s office and his decision to link his desire for prosecution to the political beliefs of Hearn and one of his attorneys, Norm Eisen.
Pirro’s office dropped the case in late July after evidence showed the area was already damaged , and Hearn’s team moved to ban the office from bringing another case in August .
At an unrelated press conference last month, Pirro declined to answer several questions from reporters about her handling of the Reflecting Pool case.
Former Olympian David Hearn outside D.C. Superior Court in July. Daniel Heuer / Bloomberg via Getty Images file Pirro’s office wanted to maintain its ability to bring a theoretical case, even though its own evidence — that the section of the Reflecting Pool that Hearn allegedly touched was already damaged, and they can’t prove more than $1,000 in damage — would make bringing another felony case impossible.
“What future prosecution could even occur?” Edelman asked at the hearing.
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