President Donald Trump is renewing his criticism of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, calling on her to revisit her decision to dismiss vandalism charges related to alleged damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool while sharply criticizing the defendant’s legal team and political affiliations.
The president’s latest comments came after Pirro’s office earlier this week moved to dismiss charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn and three other defendants. In a court filing, prosecutors concluded that damage to the Reflecting Pool resulted from what they described as a “botched” renovation project rather than acts of vandalism.
On Friday, however, Trump argued that newly visible sections of the Reflecting Pool support the original allegations that the damage was intentional.
In a Truth Social post, the president shared a screenshot of a social media post by freelance photographer Andrew Leyden. Leyden had posted photographs after the National Park Service removed fencing surrounding the recently renovated Reflecting Pool, writing that cuts in the expansion joints had become visible for the first time.
Trump pointed to those images as evidence that the damage was deliberate.
“Now that people are able to see it up close, they are reporting pure VANDALISM at The Reflecting Pool. Thank you Andrew Leyden for your observation!” Trump wrote.
The president went on to argue that the material had been cut in the same location shown on video recordings.
“The material was cut right where the video tape showed, for 300 feet or more,” Trump wrote. “People were on their knees with their hands in the water at the exact location of the ‘slashes.’ Additionally, there were witnesses to the VANDALISM, and the flexible areas of the material were cut with a knife.”
Trump then urged Pirro to reconsider her office’s decision to dismiss the charges, suggesting that additional factors warranted another look at the case.
In the same Truth Social post, the president criticized Hearn’s attorney, Norm Eisen, referring to him as a “Political Hack” and using other disparaging descriptions. Trump also referenced ActBlue and CREW while arguing that Pirro should revisit what he described as her “hastily made decision.”
“U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro should re-visit her hastily made decision,” Trump wrote, adding that the defendant was “a big player in ActBlue” and was represented by Eisen and CREW.
The president also referenced his own legal history involving Eisen.
“I have been beating Eisen, a complete LUNATIC, in Court for 10 years, or more. He just keeps coming, but I always WIN!” Trump wrote.
Friday’s remarks were not the first time the president publicly criticized Pirro over the case.
Following her office’s decision to dismiss the charges, Trump said Pirro had “folded like an umbrella.” He later told NBC News that she had made what he viewed as a “terrible mistake” in concluding that the damage resulted from construction issues rather than vandalism.
When asked whether he was considering replacing Pirro because of the decision, Trump indicated he was not prepared to take that step despite his disagreement with her handling of the case.
“I think she made a terrible decision. That doesn’t mean change,” Trump said.
The charges against Hearn had included a felony count of property destruction. Hearn pleaded not guilty and has consistently maintained that he did nothing wrong.
The dispute over the Reflecting Pool case has now drawn renewed attention following Trump’s latest appeal for prosecutors to reconsider their conclusions in light of the newly visible condition of the recently renovated site.
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