Trump DOJ can’t go after ex-Olympian again for Reflecting Pool ‘vandalism,’ judge rules

A District of Columbia judge has permanently dismissed the criminal case against David Hearn, a 67-year-old former Olympic canoeist accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and barred the government from charging him again over it. DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman ruled Thursday that prosecutors could not keep the option of reviving a case they had already described as meritless, according to The Independent.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro had earlier moved to drop the felony counts, acknowledging that poor construction work probably caused the damage to the new blue liner. Donald Trump then pressed her to reopen the matter, criticizing her on Truth Social. Edelman wrote that Hearn faced the prospect of a revived prosecution driven by presidential pressure, and called the government's position "simply fanciful." Hearn's attorneys, including Norm Eisen and Michael Bromwich, called the ruling a victory for the rule of law.

Meanwhile, spending on the pool's renovation approaches $20 million. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in July that no new contracts would be sought, yet the National Park Service last month awarded American Ag Energy Inc. a contract worth nearly $2.7 million for water purification and sewage treatment equipment.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →