Trump rebukes US Attorney Pirro over Reflecting Pool case

President Donald Trump publicly rebuked U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Monday, August 3, 2026, after she moved to dismiss a felony vandalism charge against a former Olympian, signaling a significant rift within his administration over the cause of damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump expressed sharp disappointment with Pirro, a longtime political ally and former Fox News host whom he appointed. He stated that she "folded like an umbrella" and "choked" in her handling of the case against David Hearn, a 67-year-old retired Olympic canoeist. The president insisted the damage to the pool was vandalism, contradicting the conclusion reached by the federal prosecutors in Pirro's office.

The conflict stems from a court filing submitted by Pirro's office on Friday, July 31, seeking to dismiss the indictment against Hearn. The filing stated that after Hearn was indicted on July 2, the Department of the Interior provided additional documents showing the damage was the result of a "botched installation" by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, and a rush to complete the nearly $14 million...