President Trump publicly rebuked U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Saturday, a day after her office moved to dismiss a felony vandalism indictment against a 67-year-old former Olympic canoeist and blamed the damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the contractor the administration hired to redo it.
The clash is a rare instance during Trump's second term in which a Justice Department appointee has openly contradicted him. It also undercuts a signature Washington project, a $14.7 million no-bid renovation painted in what the president called "American flag blue" that began to peel within days of completion, ahead of the America 250 celebration around Independence Day 2026.
The dismissal
Federal prosecutors in the District of Columbia filed a 20-page motion Friday to drop the case against David "Davey" Hearn, a Bethesda, Md., resident indicted July 2 on a felony destruction-of-government-property charge. Pirro's office said material provided by the Interior Department after the indictment showed the damage "was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings." Pirro wrote that given the newly discovered information, "it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt."
The filing described a frantic sealant application slowed by poor weather and "the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026." Prosecutors said a visit to the now-drained pool two weeks ago revealed damage throughout, including in sections a vandal would be unlikely to reach.
The rebuke
Trump answered Saturday on Truth Social. He acknowledged "there may have been some contractor difficulty" but said "the major damage was caused by VANDALS!" and called the episode "a pure case of VANDALISM." In a second post, the president said video showed the pool liner being "cut with a knife or a box cutter, for all to see!"
Hearn was arrested in June along with several others after passersby began noticing chunks of the new blue sealant floating on the water's surface and algae turning the pool green. Pirro's original indictment accused Hearn of damaging "a national treasure" and, in the charging papers, "forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner." Hearn pleaded not guilty.
The defense
Attorneys Steven Levin, Norm Eisen and Mary Dohrmann said Friday the prosecution should never have been brought. Their statement said, "The federal government owes Mr. Hearn an apology." Levin described the government's approach as "ready, shoot, aim." The team said Saturday it was weighing "legal remedies."
Burgum stands with Trump
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum backed the president over his own department's paper trail, writing on X that "vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool" and that some acts were "caught on camera." Burgum said Interior gave prosecutors "expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals" and every document requested. The National Park Service reported a June 9 incident involving what it described as a knife or razor cut, and Trump on Saturday urged supporters to view the surveillance footage for themselves.
The pool is drained and back under repair. Hearn's attorneys said any next move, including a possible lawsuit, remains under review, and Pirro's office said Friday it had moved to dismiss at least one of the other three misdemeanor cases against alleged vandals.