Donald Trump has escalated his criticism of Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, over her office’s decision to dismiss vandalism charges related to damage at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.
On Thursday, Trump told NBC News that Pirro made “a terrible mistake” by claiming there was no vandalism at the recently renovated attraction. Trump stated that “tremendous vandalism” had occurred. Pirro, a former Fox News host and longtime Trump ally whom the president selected for the prosecutor position, filed court documents on Friday arguing that the pool’s damage resulted from a “botched” renovation rather than intentional vandalism. Her office moved to dismiss charges against a former Olympian and three others connected to incidents at the site.
Tensions between Trump and Pirro came to a head following a reported heated meeting at the White House on Monday that included interior secretary Doug Burgum. According to reporting, Pirro accused Burgum of misleading the president about the rushed renovation, which was performed by a vendor selected through a no-bid contract from the interior department. Trump told reporters after the meeting that he had not yet made a determination regarding Pirro’s future in the position.
The case centered on David Hearn, a 67-year-old former Olympic canoeist who had faced felony property destruction charges carrying a potential 10-year prison sentence and $1,000 fine. Hearn pleaded not guilty. Following the charges’ dismissal, his legal team stated the prosecution should never have been brought and argued the case represented “abuse of government power.” Hearn’s attorney indicated that multiple legal remedies remain under consideration, including civil suits, bar referrals for prosecutors, sanctions requests, and recovery of legal fees. A justice department filing stated the pool damage resulted from “flawed installation by the contractor.”
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