Trump rebukes Pirro after charges dropped in Reflecting Pool case
What's new: Prosecutors said newly disclosed Interior Department records pointed to flawed installation, not vandalism, as the main cause of the damage.
President Donald Trump publicly broke with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro after her office moved to drop a felony case against former Olympian David Hearn over damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington. In a court filing Friday, prosecutors said records later provided by the Department of the Interior showed the pool’s liner had begun failing soon after installation and that a rushed renovation ahead of America 250 events contributed to the damage. The filing said a recent inspection found deterioration across the pool, including in the middle, undercutting the vandalism theory. Trump argued Saturday that vandals caused the main damage and posted surveillance video he said supported that claim.