RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 10 sourcesPirro’s office has been at odds with the White House over whether vandals caused the damage to president’s signature project renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
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Embattled Trump ally and top Washington prosecutor Jeanine Pirro reportedly lugged a box full of evidence to the White House on Monday as part of an attempt to convince President Trump she rightfully dropped a case over alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The box reportedly contained evidence exculpating former Olympian David Hearn and others , pinning the issues at the president’s renovation project on shoddy construction rather than malicious actors, sources familiar with the meeting told CBS News.
Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for D.C., was later seen leaving the White House with a roller bag and a large white box.
The Independent has contacted the White House and Pirro’s office for comment.
Pirro, a former Fox News host, has been under fire from the president and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for moving on Friday to drop her Reflecting Pool case. She previously accused Hearn of “forcefully and violently” tearing into the pool’s recently refinished bottom lining.
In a federal court filing, D.C. prosecutors argued the persistent problems at the pool were the “ result of a botched installation and not vandalism ,” adding that the Department of the Interior had “provided less than fulsome information at the outset of this case.”
President Trump has continued to insist vandals caused the damage, singling out Pirro by name on Monday.
“I was disappointed in Jeanine Pirro. Really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,” he told reporters at the Oval Office. “She folded like an umbrella.”
“I think she choked, because the judge was really vicious,” he added. “Instead of going after the people who did it, he went after her, and went after her department, and I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened.”
Interior Secretary Burgum has also maintained that bad actors damaged the pool, which has struggled with cracks and tears in its lining, algae blooms and cost overruns, despite the Trump administration promising a swift and cheap renovation as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations in Washington.
“The evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool. Some of these acts were even caught on camera,” Burgum wrote on X on Saturday. “We also provided the U.S. Attorney's office expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals and provided every piece of evidence they asked for in the requested time line detailing each area of damage at the pool.”
Pirro’s office, one of the most important and closely watched in the country, has suffered a string of unusual and embarrassing losses in cases that were a high priority for the president.
It failed to secure an indictment against six Democratic lawmakers who infuriated the administration by urging members of the military and intelligence communities to refuse illegal orders.
A federal judge also quashed grand jury subpoenas from Pirro’s office seeking to investigate former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The president has moved to heavily criticize — or fire — legal officials who have not delivered quick wins for the White House agenda.
In April, the Trump administration ousted then-Attorney General Pam Bondi after the president publicly complained that under her watch, “nothing is being done” to prosecute the Republican’s political enemies such as former FBI Director James Comey.
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