Charges Dismissed Against Olympian in Lincoln Memorial Vandalism Case

Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is moving to dismiss criminal charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after Donald Trump’s administration admitted that the damage to recently installed blue liner was “the result of flawed installation by the contractor.”

David Hearn pleaded not guilty to one felony count of destruction of property earlier this month.

Pirro had previously lambasted Hearn in a press conference on July 2, claiming he “woefully destroyed property” in a “deliberate act” to damage the monument by “forcefully and violently” pulling the pool’s lining.

Friday’s court filing, however, states that the recently applied blue sealant at the bottom of the pool started to peel “almost immediately” after the work was completed following renovations to the site last month.

The Department of Interior “provided less than fulsome information at the outset of this case,” according to the filing from Pirro’s office. It was not until after the indictment was filed that the federal agent determined that the “damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism,” the filing states.

“The Trump administration's case against Davey Hearn should have never been brought,” according to a statement to The Independent from Hearn’s counsel Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Fund, Mary Dohrmann of the Washington Litigation Group and Steve Levin of Steptoe LLP.

“Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong. The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology,” they said.

The shallow pool, which the president repeatedly promotes as “bigger than skyscrapers,” was refurbished with a shade of dark blue and outfitted with “advanced nanobubbler technology” to tackle algae blooms that have long plagued the landmark.

Algae returned shortly after the renovations were complete, and the new sealant started to peel off in chunks that bubbled to the surface.

Trump initially said a refurbishing project for the 2,030-foot pool could be done quickly for $1.5 million in time for White House-backed Fourth of July celebrations.

His administration has now spent nearly $14.7 million, with all funds directed to Atlantic Industrial Coatings LLC, Virginia, according to federal spending records.

The administration bypassed a typical competitive bid process and gave the company a no-bid contract by arguing that the need for renovations was so urgent that any delays would cause “serious injury” to the government, though it remains unclear what that “injury” entails.

The pool has been closed and drained, again, for more repairs.

Hearn, a two-time whitewater racing world champion who competed in the canoe slalom at three Olympic Games, was in the middle of a 52-mile bike ride on June 19 when he stopped to visit the pool.

“I reached in there, and I was able to grab the end of that flapping piece, the already peeling piece. It was still attached to the bottom. I didn’t remove anything,” he told The Washington Post last month.

That weekend, Trump claimed an unnamed “vandal” had “done everything possible to hurt the inside surface that was just installed” in an attempt to “destroy and demean our beautiful work.”

According to National Park Service officials, the liner of the bottom of the pool was cut with a sharp knife or razor, damaging foam sealant, according to the government’s court filings as part of a lawsuit that sought to block the administration’s work. That incident preceded Hearn’s alleged vandalism by 10 days.

Hearn has repeatedly denied vandalizing the monument, which was plagued by algae blooms while the recently applied “American flag blue” sealant peeled from the basin.

He was the first person charged with a felony after following the Trump administration’s pledge to target alleged vandals that the president has accused, without evidence, of stripping the pool’s lining and pouring chemicals into the water.

Asked during a press conference announcing the charges against him whether the pool’s lining was already damaged when Hearn touched it, Pirro said she was “not going to get into the evidence.”

“What I told you is what our witnesses saw and experienced,” she said. “Irrespective of whether or not we think there is some situation that preceded it, we can state and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused damage.”

In court filings this week, however, a key grand jury witness testified that the pool was leaking 1 million gallons a week before Hearn’s arrest.

That testimony “established that the pool had substantial preexisting damage requiring repair before any alleged conduct by Mr. Hearn,” according to his legal team.