President Donald Trump criticized U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Saturday after her office dropped a vandalism case against a former Olympic canoeist accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Prosecutors cited a botched contractor installation rather than vandalism, drawing swift rebukes from the president and fueling sharp political debate in Washington.
Trump Rebukes Jeanine Pirro Over Dropped Reflecting Pool Vandalism Charges
President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that he disagreed “100%” with the decision by federal prosecutors to drop a criminal case against a man accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The public rebuke directed at U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, one of the president’s staunchest allies and the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, marks a rare moment during Trump’s second term of an aide or political appointee openly defying him. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post: I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking?
Trump added that it was a pure case of VANDALISM.
The Justice Department moved in a court filing to dismiss a felony destruction of property charge against 67-year-old David “Davey” Hearn, a former Olympian and three-time Olympic canoe racer from Bethesda, Maryland. Hearn was indicted on July 2 over claims that he was forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner
of the pool with both hands on June 19. Prosecutors stated that new documentation provided by the Interior Department after Hearn’s indictment undermined the evidentiary basis of the indictment, pointing instead to a rushed and botched installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, prior to the nation’s America 250 celebrations.
Government lawyers detailed in a 20-page court filing on Friday that additional documents provided by the Interior Department showed the damage was the result of a botched installation by a contractor as well as the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026.
Furthermore, a recent visual inspection revealed damage throughout the pool, including in the middle — where prosecutors noted a vandal would not likely have attempted to peel the lining. Hearn pleaded not guilty and maintained that the condition of the Reflecting Pool was the same after I stepped away from the water as it was before I got there.
Hearn has stated he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when told to by a park worker. Defense attorney Norm Eisen stated after a hearing, Every American should be alarmed about this prosecution. It is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool.
Contractor Flaws Versus Surveillance Video Claims
The conflict centers on competing explanations for extensive damage to the pool’s sealant. While Pirro’s office asserted that widespread peeling and damage stemmed from shoddy construction work, Trump insisted that the pool remained the target of deliberate criminal acts. The $14 million-plus renovation project, directed by the president, featured a coating in American flag blue.
Hearn was one of several people arrested in June after the pool was seen covered in green algae and pieces of its blue sealant had peeled away in several places, resulting in chunks of the material floating on the water’s surface. At least three other people have been charged in D.C. Superior Court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the Reflecting Pool, and all three pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearances.
Refuting the dismissal, Trump argued on social media that surveillance video clearly showed vandalism at the pool. In a second post Saturday, the president stated: There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!
Trump added in his post: Look for yourselves at the VANDALISM that took place at The Reflecting Pool. The material is being cut with a knife or a box cutter, for all to see!
Democrats Seize on DOJ Reversal
Democrats seized on the Justice Department’s decision to drop the case to accuse President Trump of weaponizing the DOJ. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) wrote on the social platform X: Another embarrassment to Donald Trump as he weaponizes the Justice Department to go after those he perceives to be his enemies — only to have to drop the charges.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) argued that Hearn, who pleaded not guilty, should have legal recourse after being prosecuted, writing on X: Maliciously prosecuted clearly innocent people like David Hearn should have remedies against federal officials who unconscionably target them.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) accused Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who doubled down on claims that the damage was caused by vandals, of misrepresenting the facts. Lieu said in response to Burgum’s comments: “You are lying when it comes to Olympian David Hearn. The court filing from trump’s own Justice Dept proves it. The DOJ admitted the Reflecting Pool failed because of shoddy contracting work. This calls into question how much of what you said are lies.”