Judge Permanently Dismisses Reflecting Pool Vandalism Case Against Olympian David Hearn

Earlier this month, D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd E. Edelman ordered the dismissal of the criminal case charging former Olympic canoeist David Hearn with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The dismissal was entered “with prejudice,” barring U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office from refiling the felony charge. Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, had been accused of touching a peeled coating on the pool’s lining during a bike ride on June 19. The charge carried a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.

Associated Press

The indictment was originally filed after the Justice Department relied on limited information from the Interior Department. In a July 31 filing, Pirro disclosed that new Interior evidence pointed to a contractor’s rushed installation, not vandalism, as the cause of the damage. Despite Pirro’s decision to drop the case, President Donald Trump publicly criticized her, saying she “choked” and “folded like an umbrella,” and suggested she could be fired. Trump’s comments raised concerns that the administration might pressure prosecutors to revive the case.

Associated Press

Judge Edelman emphasized “exceptional circumstances” that justified a permanent dismissal, noting that the government’s own representations made any future prosecution “theoretical at best.” Pirro’s July 31 filing described the indictment as based on “less than fulsome information” and attributed the damage to a botched contractor installation undertaken to meet the timeline for President Trump’s “America 250” celebration.

Associated Press

They argued that the prosecution was an unjust use of criminal power driven by political pressure. Trump’s public attacks on Pirro were cited by the lawyers as evidence of the administration’s willingness to pursue charges irrespective of factual merit.

Associated Press

• “Although the prosecutors assigned to this case have deemed it meritless, the President of the United States has repeatedly disparaged them and pressured them to change course,” — Todd Edelman, superior court judge

Associated Press

• “While all defendants deal with some degree of uncertainty regarding the odds of re-prosecution after a case has been dismissed, Mr. Hearn 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,” — Todd Edelman, superior court judge

USA Today