Reflecting Pool Damage Was The Result Of Botched Work, Not Vandals, Doj Says

President Donald Trump’s botched renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of a “hasty” installation by the contractor, and not vandalism, the Department of Justice revealed Friday afternoon.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, in a motion to dismiss charges against former Olympian David Hearn for allegedly vandalizing the reflecting pool, wrote that previously undisclosed problems with the installation of its blue lining make proving a felony destruction of government property charge difficult.

Furthermore, her office blamed the Interior Department for failing to share information about the status of that work that would have dissuaded the government from seeking an indictment in the first place.

“Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment,” the filing stated.

The remarkable filing marks the end of an embarrassing saga for the Trump administration, which sought to renovate the pool as part of planned improvements ahead of the Fourth of July celebration in D.C., but repeatedly faced delays and ran millions of dollars over budget. After the pool reopened, the “American Flag Blue” lining began to peel off and float in the water while algae reappeared on the pool surface.

Attorneys for Hearn wrote in a statement that the charges “should never have been brought,” and said the administration owes him an apology.

“Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong,” they wrote. “The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim.”

Tim Lauer, director of external affairs at the Attorney’s Office, told POLITICO that “the motion speaks for itself.”

Trump, for his part, had quickly asserted that “Deranged Vandals” were responsible for the damage, writing in a Truth Social post in June that he hoped the defendants would be “prosecuted to the MAX.”

Evidence unveiled in the filing suggests otherwise.

A National Park Services engineer was alerted to peeling of the reflecting pool liner in mid-June, which was attributed to overspraying of liner material along the perimeter of the pool, according to the filing. An inspection of the pool in July, after it had been drained to inspect and repair the lining, revealed damage throughout the pool, rather than just the perimeter, according to the filing.

The filing said “overspraying and a failure of the coatings to bond” were cited in a report written after that July inspection.

“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,” the motion to dismiss concluded.

Notably, the motion accuses the Interior Department of failing to provide sufficient information prior to charges being filed against Hearn. That information, the filing states, was only shared after the Attorney’s Office reached out to the department “dozens and dozens of times.”