WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President on Saturday sharply criticized U.S. Attorney that damage to was the result of shoddy construction and not the work of vandals, as he claims.
Pirro鈥檚 office, in a on Friday, against a former Olympian, David Hearn, who had been accused of deliberately damaging the pool after it underwent a renovation ahead of the nation鈥檚 250th birthday celebration last month.
Trump, in a posting on social media, acknowledged that there 鈥渕ay have been some contractor difficulty鈥� in the installation of a new pool liner. But he continues to insist 鈥渢he major damage was caused by VANDALS!鈥�
鈥淚 disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,鈥� Trump added in his post.
The dismissal was an embarrassing setback for a Justice Department that had previously echoed Trump’s claims and billed the prosecution as accountability for damage at a Washington landmark, a pet project of Trump. The president, without providing any clear new evidence, continued to allege on Saturday that the majority of the damage to the pool was caused by vandals.
Government lawyers in their 20-page court filing on Friday said that additional documents provided by the Interior Department since the indictment of Hearn show that the damage was the result of a botched installation by a contractor as well as 鈥渢he rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026.鈥�
In addition, a recent visual inspection revealed damage throughout the pool, including in the middle 鈥� where prosecutors say a vandal would not likely have attempted to peel the lining.
Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, was accused of pulling up a two-foot square piece of the pool鈥檚 lining.
鈥淕iven 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,鈥� Pirro, a Trump appointee, said in her filing, which asked a judge to formally dismiss the case.
Pirro in the court filing also blamed the Interior Department for providing 鈥渓ess than fulsome information at the outset of the case.鈥�
The filing added that had 鈥淒OI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment.鈥� It was a jarring turn in position from Pirro, who claimed the government’s case was built on
Hearn’s legal team on Saturday criticized both Trump and Pirro and said it was weighing “legal remedies鈥� on behalf of their client.
鈥淭rump is mad at Pirro because she finally admitted what we made clear in our legal filings all along: Trump鈥檚 botched renovation was responsible for the damage 鈥� not Davey Hearn,” the legal team said in a statement. 鈥淗owever, 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.鈥�
Interior Department officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump on Saturday also posted a nearly four-minute video that appears to have been taken from a security camera, in which three individuals can be seen with their hands in the pool, including one for an extended period.
The president claimed the video shows 鈥渕aterial is being cut with a knife or a box cutter, for all to see!鈥�
It’s not clear from the video, which appears to be shot from some distance, that any vandalism occurred. Workers can also be seen standing nearby and don鈥檛 appear to notice the people sticking their hands in the water.
In May, Trump announced plans to beautify the Reflecting Pool this spring. Virginia-based was awarded a $14.7 million no-bid contract to repaint and waterproof the pool鈥檚 concrete floor.
Atlantic Industrial Coatings did not respond to requests for comment.
Water was drained and Trump directed that the bottom be painted with what he called 鈥淎merican flag blue.鈥�
But problems emerged within days of the project’s completion, with chunks of the new liner peeling off.
Trump was quick to blame vandals. And the a June 9 incident in which it claimed a sharp knife or razor cut the pool鈥檚 new liner.
The work on the Reflecting Pool is just one of a number of projects Trump has spearheaded across the nation鈥檚 capital. Most prominently, he to build a $400 million ballroom and between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
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