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Trump challenges DOJ findings in Reflecting Pool vandalism case
The dispute centers on a court filing seeking to drop the Trump administration’s case against a 67-year-old former Olympian tied to the renovation after $14.7 million work developed peeling blue lining and green algae blooms.
US President Donald Trump posted that he disagrees with Justice Department findings that a flawed installation, not vandalism, caused the lining on the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to peel, according to reporting cited by SCMP Economy.
Trump’s post pushes back on a case that has become a flashpoint as the Trump administration tries to reshape Washington, with him arguing it was a “pure case of VANDALISM” while the Justice Department’s position attributes the defects to installation problems.
In a court filing on Friday, prosecutors including US Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Assistant US Attorney Michael Spence asked a judge to drop the Trump administration’s case against David Hearn, 67, a former Olympian it had accused of vandalizing the pool.
The renovation, which drew criticism over its $14.7 million cost, developed algae blooms that tinted the water green and peeling pieces of blue lining, while the prosecutors said newly received Department of the Interior documents pointed to a rushed and flawed installation process with extensive peeling throughout the reflecting pool.