RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Topline President Donald Trump is considering removing U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro after her office chose to drop Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool-related vandalism charges, CNN reported, saying she “choked” and “folded like an umbrella.”
Unnamed sources familiar with Trump’s thinking told CNN the president is “furious” with Pirro and fumed all weekend about her decision to drop the vandalism charges, with one source saying it is “highly likely she’s removed from her job.”
Another source, whom CNN says is a senior administration official, said Trump was “blindsided” by the court filing Pirro’s office made that dropped the charge and instead blamed the Reflecting Pool’s problems on a “botched” renovation by the Interior Department.
Trump refused to answer a reporter who asked whether he would reconsider Pirro’s role in the Oval Office on Monday, saying, “You’re fake news. Don’t ever talk again.”
Trump, though, heaped criticism on Pirro on Monday, telling reporters she “choked” and “folded like an umbrella,” adding he was “really disappointed” with her decision.
Trump doubled down on his claims the Reflecting Pool was damaged by vandals, telling reporters the administration has “photographs” and “tapes” that show people “cutting it with a box knife,” adding, “Jeanine Pirro made a mistake. It was vandalism.”
In a dramatic reversal on Friday, Pirro’s office filed a motion to dismiss a felony vandalism charge against David Hearn, a 67-year-old ex-Olympic canoeist, because the damage done to the Reflecting Pool “was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism.” The motion contradicted Trump’s longstanding claim that the Reflecting Pool was vandalized and his vow that the alleged vandals would be “prosecuted to the MAX.” Pirro’s court filing prompted a swift rebuke from Trump over the weekend, who said in a post on Truth Social, “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking?” calling the damage to the pool “a pure case of VANDALISM.”
In the court filing, Pirro said the Department of the Interior only provided documents to her office that suggested damage to the Reflecting Pool was due to a “rushed and flawed installation” of the pool’s lining after it had already issued Hearn’s indictment. The indictment had been made based on the Interior Department’s claim that vandals were to blame for the damage, Pirro’s filing says. Had the Interior Department been “forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment,” the filing says.
The Trump administration’s repairs to the Reflecting Pool have been plagued with persistent algae and a peeling liner, though Trump has consistently blamed alleged vandals for the damage. In posts on Truth Social and in comments to reporters, Trump’s claims about the pool damage have varied—he once alleged there is a 250-foot gash, and another time alleged there is a 300-yard gash, which would equal 900 feet, though the draining of the pool did not appear to reveal such a cut. A Washington Post analysis of the pool, based on satellite imagery and conversations with experts, found the lining appears to be peeling in about seven places, indicating apparent problems with its installation. The administration’s renovation of the pool, which reportedly ballooned in cost from about $1.8 million to $16 million, is facing a probe from Senate Democrats, who said the repairs have raised “serious questions about project management, contracting practices, quality control, and fiscal responsibility.”
Trump Doubles Down On Reflecting Pool Vandal Claims—After Pirro Drops Vandalism Case (Forbes)
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