Donald Trump has intensified his criticism of Jeanine Pirro after the Justice Department moved to dismiss the vandalism case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, keeping the Reflecting Pool dispute firmly in the spotlight.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice said it wanted all criminal charges against Hearn thrown out in connection with the alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Hearn had been facing a potential sentence of up to 10 years behind bars. But in a 20-page court filing submitted on Friday, government lawyers said newly reviewed evidence pointed instead to construction-related problems and pressure to finish the work ahead of national celebrations.
‘flawed installation by the contractor’
‘rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration,’
Those findings formed part of the government’s explanation for why the case was no longer being pursued. Documents indicated that the flawed installation was performed by contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings, with repeated failures of the pool’s lining during the installation process and extensive peeling throughout the pool.
“Given 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,”
Pirro wrote in the filing, a conclusion that reportedly angered the president.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, Trump made clear he was unhappy with Pirro’s handling of the matter.
“I was disappointed in Jeanine Pirro. Really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,”
“She folded like an umbrella,”
“People get away with things, it’s a disgrace.”
He then went further in his criticism of both Pirro and the judge involved in the case.
“I think she choked, because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people who did it, he went after her, and went after her department, and I guess she choked. I don’t know what the h**l happened.”
Reporters also pressed Trump on whether Pirro’s position could now be in doubt, but he refused to engage with the question and instead turned on the journalist asking it.
“Are you reconsidering her role?”
“I don’t know what…. you’re fake news, don’t ever talk again,”
“You’re fake news, one of the worst in the business. Fortunately no body watches you,”
According to CNN, sources said Trump and Pirro met at the White House on Monday afternoon as questions continued about her future. Multiple sources told CNN that during the meeting, Trump did not fire Pirro nor did she offer her resignation. A White House official did not comment on that meeting.
When asked about where things stand for Pirro, the outlet was directed back to Trump’s earlier remarks about her decision to drop the prosecution.
This is not the first time Trump has weighed in. On August 1, he posted on Truth Social to voice his frustration and openly question Pirro’s judgment.
‘what was she thinking?’
” 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! President DJT.”
Pirro, a former Fox News host who was confirmed by the Senate as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia in August 2025, said in her filing that the Department of the Interior “provided less than fulsome information at the outset of this case” and that had the Interior Department been forthcoming, “the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment.”
Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, has maintained his innocence, saying he simply touched the water in the pool out of curiosity during a bike ride in June. His attorneys, meanwhile, said the dropped case should never have been brought in the first place and argued that the administration should apologize.
‘owes him an apology’
“Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong,”
“The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr Hearn an apology.”
The dismissal marks a significant embarrassment for Trump’s Justice Department. The pool renovation, which Trump championed ahead of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations in July 2026, has cost more than $14 million. Trump had initially suggested the renovation would cost $1.5 million but the project became plagued with problems, with the pool leaking more than one million gallons of water per week and its expansion joints having exceeded their service life.
The case against Hearn was not the only one involving alleged Reflecting Pool damage to be dropped. As of Monday, prosecutors had also dismissed cases against three other individuals who had been charged with misdemeanors in connection with the pool.