Trump denounces Justice Department decision to drop Reflecting Pool charges | Donald Trump News
Trump Criticizes Justice Department’s Decision to Drop Charges Against Olympic Athlete
Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump has publicly criticized the Department of Justice following its decision to dismiss criminal charges against David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Trump’s comments came on Saturday, a day after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced the discontinuation of charges against Hearn, 67, who had been arrested in June. Pirro stated the damage to the Reflecting Pool was due to a “botched installation” rather than vandalism, which contradicted earlier assertions made by her office.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump expressed his disagreement with Pirro, stating he believed a case of vandalism had indeed occurred. “To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM,” he noted. He did not mention Hearn directly but shared a video showing an individual reaching into the Reflecting Pool, as well as a photo of controversial numbers etched onto the National Mall lawn, interpreted by some as a call to remove the 47th president from office.
The Reflecting Pool renovation has become a contentious issue for Trump, who has advocated for significant physical changes to Washington, D.C. His administration awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to a company he previously employed privately for the pool’s repair work, which had not held a government contract before. This deal was made without a competitive bidding process, leading to scrutiny.
After the renovations were completed, issues arose, including peeling lining and algae blooms. Trump attributed these problems to vandalism, while the announcement of seven arrests linked to the pool raised concerns of political scapegoating.
Hearn, who has represented the United States in three Olympic Games, stated he had stopped by the Reflecting Pool while riding his bike and touched the peeling sealant. He maintains his innocence and asserts that his arrest was a diversion from the renovation’s failures. His legal team described the charges as an attempt to distract from shoddy work.
Initially, Pirro accused Hearn of violently damaging the pool’s liner, calling his actions an affront to shared history. Federal prosecutors had claimed that the damage he allegedly caused exceeded $1,000, warranting federal charges. However, in her recent filing, Pirro indicated that new evidence from the Department of the Interior suggested the damage was due to installation flaws rather than vandalism.
Pirro explained that pressure to complete the renovation project by July 4—a milestone coinciding with U.S. Independence Day and the nation’s 250th anniversary—contributed to the hurried work that resulted in the reported damage. “The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed,” she wrote.
