President Donald Trump lashed out Saturday at his own U.S. Attorney after she moved to dismiss criminal charges against a former Olympian, concluding that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool stemmed from faulty construction — not vandalism. The case's collapse marks an embarrassing reversal for a Justice Department that had championed the prosecution as accountability for harm to a Washington landmark.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office filed a motion Friday to drop charges against David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist accused of deliberately tearing a two-foot square piece from the pool's lining. Government lawyers cited newly obtained Interior Department documents showing the damage resulted from a botched installation and "the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026."
A Rushed Project Unravels
Trump awarded Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings a $14.7 million no-bid contract in May to repaint and waterproof the pool's concrete floor. He directed workers to paint the bottom with what he called "American flag blue." Problems emerged within days. Chunks of the new liner began peeling off.
The 20-page court filing revealed that a recent visual inspection found damage throughout the pool, including in the middle — where prosecutors acknowledged a vandal wouldn't likely have attempted to peel the lining. "Given all of this 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," Pirro wrote.
Defying the President
Trump didn't hold back his anger. "I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool," he posted on social media Saturday. He acknowledged "there may have been some contractor difficulty" but insisted "the major damage was caused by VANDALS!" He provided no clear new evidence.
The dismissal represents a rare moment during Trump's second term when a political appointee openly defied him. Pirro, whom Trump appointed, had claimed just last month that the government's case was built on "tremendous evidence" when announcing Hearn's indictment. Now she blamed the Interior Department for providing "less than fulsome information at the outset of the case," adding that had "DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment."
Blame Shifts Between Agencies
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum pushed back on X, claiming some vandalism was captured on video. "We also provided the U.S. Attorney's office expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals and provided every piece of evidence they asked for in the requested time line detailing each area of damage at the pool," Burgum wrote.
Trump posted a nearly four-minute security camera video Saturday showing three individuals with their hands in the pool. He claimed it shows "material is being cut with a knife or a box cutter, for all to see!" The video, shot from some distance, doesn't clearly show vandalism. Workers stood nearby and didn't appear to notice the people putting their hands in the water.
Legal Fallout for the Accused
Hearn's legal team criticized both Trump and Pirro on Saturday, saying they're weighing "legal remedies" on behalf of their client. "Trump is mad at Pirro because she finally admitted what we made clear in our legal filings all along: Trump's botched renovation was responsible for the damage — not Davey Hearn," the legal team said. They called Pirro's claim that she was duped by Interior "nonsense," noting their motions "repeatedly proved that the administration was to blame for the Reflecting Pool failures, not Davey."
The National Park Service reported to U.S. Park Police a June 9 incident claiming a sharp knife or razor cut the pool's new liner. Atlantic Industrial Coatings didn't respond to requests for comment.
The Reflecting Pool work is one of several projects Trump has spearheaded across the capital. Most prominently, he demolished the White House's East Wing to build a $400 million ballroom and plans to build a towering arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
Why This Matters:
The case's dismissal exposes the human cost of rushed government projects and the dangers of politically motivated prosecutions. Hearn, a former Olympic athlete, faced criminal charges that prosecutors now admit were unfounded — charges brought after the Justice Department echoed Trump's unsubstantiated vandalism claims. The episode reveals how a $14.7 million no-bid contract and pressure to complete work for a political celebration can lead to shoddy construction, followed by scapegoating of innocent individuals rather than accountability for contractors and officials who failed in their duties. It also demonstrates the risks when prosecutorial decisions align with presidential rhetoric rather than evidence, and the institutional damage when agencies shift blame rather than accepting responsibility for failures in public infrastructure projects that serve millions of Americans.