Reflecting Pool Case Dropped: DA Cites 'Flawed Installation' Over Olympian's Alleged Vandalism

In a significant turn of events, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, has moved to dismiss the indictment against U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool of the Lincoln Memorial. Pirro cited a "flawed installation" as the cause of damage to the pool's sealant, a conclusion reached after her office received new information and evidence that undermined the initial charges.

Hearn had been charged with felony destruction of property in early July, with Pirro initially stating at a press conference that he had "violently" ripped part of the pool's liner with his bare hands. However, the defense attorneys for Hearn vehemently accused the Trump administration of making the 67-year-old former Olympian a "scapegoat" for a troubled and expensive renovation project that President Donald Trump had frequently championed.

The controversy arose after the pool appeared to continue leaking following its renovation. President Trump had repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that vandals had inflicted a long gash along the bottom. Contrary to these assertions, Pirro's court filing on Friday stated that a "botched installation" was the true culprit.

Prosecutors had presented evidence to a grand jury suggesting vandalism, based on initial reports from the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Park Police. However, after the indictment was returned against Hearn, the Interior Department provided "additional documents" indicating that the damage observed in June was "the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings." Pirro also attributed the issues to the "rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. commented to CNBC, "The motion speaks for itself." Hearn's attorneys, Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann, and Steve Levin, released a statement saying, "The Trump administration's case against Davey Hearn should have never been brought. Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong." They added, "The government's approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology."

This development follows a court filing by Hearn's attorneys four days prior, which stated that the government's key grand-jury witness had conceded that the property was already damaged before Hearn allegedly touched it. The defense had requested the disclosure of information provided to the grand jury before Hearn's indictment.

Pirro's filing places significant blame on the Interior Department for providing inadequate information at the outset of the case. "DOI provided less than fulsome information at the outset of this case," Pirro wrote. "It was not until USAO-DC repeatedly reached out to DOI dozens and dozens of times that DOI slowly started trickling information to USAO-DC." She argued that had the DOI been more forthcoming, the government would not have pursued the indictment.

The filing also details other issues that plagued the Reflecting Pool renovation, including adverse weather, repeated failures in testing the sealing of expansion joints, and delays in obtaining sealing materials. Pirro noted that "the rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed." The Trump administration had awarded a no-bid contract for the renovation to Atlantic Industrial Coatings LLC, a company whose owner had previously worked on one of Trump's swimming pools.

Atlantic Industrial Coatings, in a statement on their website, acknowledged that "some areas in the Reflecting Pool that require repairs" and that these were "a very small part of the massive 7 acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner."