Trump criticises prosecutor over Reflecting Pool case

President Donald Trump criticised U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro after she sought to dismiss charges against former Olympian David Hearn in the Washington Reflecting Pool case.

Pirro filed documents Friday seeking dismissal of the case against Hearn, saying new information undermined the evidentiary basis for the indictment. The documents said new material indicated that damage to the landmark resulted from flawed contractor installation and a rush to finish the project before events linked to the America 250 celebration.

Trump rejected Pirro's position in a Truth Social post Saturday. "I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool," he wrote. "To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM."

Trump also said there may have been contractor difficulty but claimed the major damage was caused by vandals. He shared security camera footage that he said showed vandalism. The footage showed people from a distance putting their hands into the water while workers carried out cleaning, but it did not clearly show people damaging the pool or putting anything into it.

Hearn, 67, had been arrested and charged with felony vandalism, an offence that could have brought a decade in prison. He pleaded not guilty.

The dispute followed an expedited renovation of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall ahead of America's 250th anniversary celebrations. After a new blue sealant began peeling from the pool bottom and algae grew quickly despite chemical treatment, Trump blamed vandalism for the damage.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum repeated Trump's claim Saturday, posting on X that vandals had repeatedly damaged the Reflecting Pool and that authorities would not back down from people seeking to destroy, deface or degrade monuments.