President Donald Trump turns on Jeanine Pirro over her decision on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case: ‘What was she thinking’
President Donald Trump publicly turned against U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro after she moved to dismiss felony charges against former Olympian David Hearn in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case. The president said he “disagree[s] 100%” with Pirro’s conclusion that newly uncovered evidence points to construction failures, rather than vandalism, as the primary cause of damage to the recently renovated landmark. The dispute marks one of the most significant public disagreements between Trump and one of his own political appointees during his second term.
Donald Trump rejects Jeanine Pirro’s decision
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, August 1, Trump criticized Pirro’s decision to drop the felony destruction of government property charge against Hearn, arguing the evidence still supports a vandalism case. “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass, which had a big 86 47 emblazoned in giant letters on it, and other elements of the surrounding area. There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!” Trump wrote.
New evidence prompted dismissal of felony charge
Federal prosecutors sought to dismiss the charges after determining that newly obtained evidence undermines the original allegation that Hearn intentionally damaged federal property. On Friday, July 31, Pirro formally asked the court to dismiss the case, citing evidence that the Reflecting Pool’s liner failed because of installation defects rather than vandalism. Court filings stated that the bottom of the Reflecting Pool had begun peeling “almost immediately” after Atlantic Industrial Coatings rushed to complete the nearly $14 million renovation ahead of July Fourth celebrations tied to the America 250 events.
“It was not until after the return of the indictment, that the DOI provided additional documents to the USAO-DC [United States Attorney’s Office – District of Columbia] indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings (‘AIC’), and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026,” one filing stated.
“It was not until after these documents were produced that USAO-DC first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI,” the filing continued.
Pirro’s motion to dismiss also argued that the Department of the Interior failed to “fully and accurately provide information to USAODC,” undermining prosecutors’ ability to properly assess the case.
David Hearn’s attorneys sharply criticize Donald Trump and Jeanine Pirro after dismissal
Hearn’s attorneys sharply criticized both Trump and Pirro after the dismissal motion was filed, arguing the government had ignored evidence presented by the defense from the outset. “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 in a statement to the Associated Press. “However, her claim that she and her office were previously duped by Interior is nonsense. Starting immediately after the arraignment, our motions repeatedly proved that the administration was to blame for the Reflecting Pool failures, not Davey.”
The latest developments represent a dramatic reversal from Pirro’s position in early July, when she publicly accused Hearn of “woefully” destroying federal property, alleging National Park Service employees witnessed him “forcefully and violently” pulling up the newly installed liner. Prosecutors now say the available evidence no longer supports proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Hearn caused the damage cited in the original criminal complaint.
Interior Department defends vandalism claims
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum disputed the conclusions reached by federal prosecutors, insisting the department had provided extensive evidence showing vandals damaged the historic site. “The evidence is clear,” Burgum wrote on X on Saturday. “Vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool.”
“Some of these acts were even caught on camera,” he continued. “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. The Reflecting Pool is part of the Lincoln Memorial and dates back to 1922. [Trump] cares deeply about protecting our sacred national monuments and his leadership has led the restoration of our Nation’s Capital by Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Again.”
Burgum added that “the intentional damage done to the Reflecting Pool is no different than defacing any one of our other national monuments.”
“We won’t back down to deranged people who want to destroy, deface, or degrade our monuments,” he concluded.
Federal authorities have arrested or cited at least 10 people in connection with alleged vandalism at the Reflecting Pool. Burgum previously said seven people, including Hearn, were arrested in June.