A federal judge raised alarms that President Trump’s public push to revisit the vandalism case against David Hearn could permanently derail new charges, putting prosecutors and the justice system on the spot. Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn returned to court Friday, hoping to end the legal saga that has surrounded his alleged role in damage […] The post Judge questions future of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool case after Trump’s call for prosecution appeared first on American Almanac .
A federal judge raised alarms that President Trump’s public push to revisit the vandalism case against David Hearn could permanently derail new charges, putting prosecutors and the justice system on the spot. Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn returned to court Friday, hoping to end the legal saga that has surrounded his alleged role in damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. Hearn’s attorneys urged Judge Todd Edelman to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” a move that would prevent federal prosecutors from bringing any new charges based on the same incident. The central dispute is not just about the facts of the alleged vandalism, but about the fallout from heated public statements made by President Donald…Open
Prosecutors argue the Reflecting Pool vandalism case against David Hearn should be dismissed without prejudice, which would leave the door open to re-charge him.
Trump set out in late March to renovate the Reflecting Pool, which he described as “absolutely filthy” and vowed to make it “look gorgeous.” One of his changes was to paint the bottom of the pool “American flag blue.” By June 11, a National Park Service engineer’s saw that this bottom layer was peeling, a phenomenon that Trump blamed on vandalism. David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, was arrested and indicted when he reached into the Reflecting Pool. The case was later dismissed after the Justice Department admitted that the $14 million renovation was flawed. CNN spoke to Hearn’s attorney, the CEO of the company in charge of the pool’s water quality and David Hearn through the saga. 0:00 David Hearn is indicted 0:35…
Lawyers for former Olympian David Hearn argue Trump is pushing a "false version" of events in the Reflecting Pool vandalism case.
AI:Lawyers representing former Olympian David Hearn have accused President Trump of promoting a false narrative regarding the recent vandalism at the World War II Memorial reflecting pool. The legal team contends that the administration's characterization of the incident and the subsequent response deviates from the actual facts of the case.Open
According to new reporting, White House officials are pressing the Justice Department to consider re-prosecuting the vandalism case against ex-Olympian David Hearn—even though DOJ lawyers dropped the charges. Sen. Chris Van Hollen joins to discuss.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the White House is attempting to reignite charges against Olympic canoeist David Hearn, the man accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool, despite U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro dropping the initial case. Nicolle Wallace is joined by Liz Oyer and Michael Feinberg for analysis on Deadline White House.
Ex-Olympian David Hearn was cleared in the Reflecting Pool case, but his lawyers are still fighting to uncover what prosecutors told the grand jury—and weighing legal options to stop Trump’s “continued harassment.” Hearn’s attorney Norm Eisen joins to discuss.
In a lengthy Truth Social post, President Trump admitted that some damage to the Reflecting Pool was caused by "contractor error" and a rush to get the job done by July 4th. However, the president said that the error was in a small area of the pool and doubled down on vandalism claims against former Olympian David Hearn, despite the Justice Department moving to dismiss the case against Hearn, citing evidence that the damage was caused by a botched installation.
The ex-Olympian accused of damaging the reflecting pool tells NPR the experience has been "Orwellian" and "Kafkaesque." And it's not over yet: His lawyers are fighting to close the case permanently.
