Trump, Interior Secretary Clash with DOJ Over Reflecting Pool Damage Claim

President Donald Trump publicly rebuked U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the Justice Department’s decision to dismiss the criminal case against former Olympian David Hearn concerning damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The DOJ moved to drop the indictment on Friday, concluding that the pool’s damage stemmed from a “rushed and botched installation” rather than intentional vandalism. Hearn had been indicted earlier this month for allegedly ripping the pool’s bottom liner and had pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of destruction of property.

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Prosecutors’ filing noted that the renovation work suffered from “very rainy and windy weather,” repeated failures in testing expansion-joint seals, and delays in obtaining sealing product, which together caused over-spraying and delamination of the liner. A National Park Service engineer had raised concerns about paint peeling days before Hearn’s arrest.

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• President Trump posted on Truth Social that he “disagree 100%” with Pirro’s assessment and maintained that the damage was caused by vandals.

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• Attorney’s office.

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• “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,” — President Trump

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• “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,” — Doug Burgum, interior secretary

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The case’s ultimate resolution will rest with the judge overseeing Hearn’s charges. The Reflecting Pool renovations remain part of the administration’s broader effort to revitalize Washington, D.C., in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

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