Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., and FBI Director Kash Patel conduct a news conference at the Department of Justice on Monday, April 27, 2026.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Friday moved to dismiss an indictment charging U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn with vandalizing the Reflecting Pool of the Lincoln Memorial, writing in a court filing that damage to the pool’s sealant was the result of a “flawed installation.”
Hearn had been charged with felony destruction of property in early July, with Pirro saying at a press conference that he “violently” ripped up part of the pool’s liner with his bare hands.
Hearn’s attorneys accused the Trump administration of making the 67-year-old ex-Olympian a “scapegoat” for the troubled renovation, which President Donald Trump had frequently boasted about.
After the pool appeared to show issues following its renovation, Trump repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that vandals had cut a gash hundreds of feet long along the bottom.
But Pirro said in Friday’s court filing said a “botched installation” was to blame.
Prosecutors had presented a grand jury in D.C. with “evidence that damage to the Reflecting Pool was caused by vandals” after receiving initial reports to that effect from the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Park Police, Pirro wrote.
But after that grand jury returned its indictment against Hearn, the Interior Department provided “additional documents” showing that the damage occurring in June was the “result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings,” Pirro said.
She also blamed “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026.”
Asked for additional comment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. told CNBC, “The motion speaks for itself.”
Hearn’s attorneys told CNBC in a statement, “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,” read the statement from lawyers Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin.
“The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology,” they said.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
