DOJ watchdog declines to investigate 'misconduct' in Reflecting Pool vandalism case, lawyers say

NBC News and CBS News report that the Justice Department's inspector general, Don Berthiaume, will not look into how prosecutors handled the case against former Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The refusal matters because Hearn's lawyers say the alleged wrongdoing may include crimes, and that the office left to review it is weaker and less independent. CBS News says Berthiaume's October 8 letter sent the matter to the Office of Professional Responsibility, saying the main allegations concern prosecutorial misconduct. He added that his decision did not mean the claims lacked merit. NBC News adds that Hearn's legal team says that office lacks criminal jurisdiction. In an October 21 reply, the lawyers said it had lost roughly half its staff, and that without the inspector general no investigation would happen. Their central example is a government witness before the grand jury who, after a 21-minute break, put the damage at "definitely" $1,000 or more, having earlier been unable to say Hearn caused any. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office later dropped the case, blaming the contractor's flawed installation. NBC News says the Interior Department's inspector general is examining the allegations about that department's personnel, according to NBC News · CBS News.

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