Democrats slam Trump admin after DOJ drops Reflecting Pool vandalism case
Democrats are reacting to the Justice Department’s move to drop its Reflecting Pool vandalism case against a former Olympian David Hearn, saying the move validated their longstanding criticism that the administration is weaponizing the Justice Department. The Justice Department on Friday moved to dismiss its felony destruction of property charge against Hearn after finding that...
The Justice Department has dropped its case against a former Olympian, David Hearn, who was charged with vandalism of the Reflecting Pool. According to CBS News, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the indictment, saying the damage was caused by "botched installation and not vandalism." This decision has been met with reaction from Democrats, who say it validates their criticism that the administration is weaponizing the Justice Department, as reported by The Hill.
The Reflecting Pool was one of several renovations in Washington, D.C. ordered by President Donald Trump ahead of America's 250th birthday celebrations, according to CNBC. However, the renovation has been marred by controversy, with the newly refurbished pool experiencing problems. The US attorney in Washington, Jeanine Pirro, has blamed shoddy construction for the issues, as reported by The New York Times.
President Trump has disagreed with the findings of his own Department of Justice, which attributed the damage to faulty installation rather than vandalism, as reported by both The New York Times and Live Mint. He said he disagrees "100%" with these findings, according to The New York Times.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Hill, CNBC, CBS News, The New York Times, Live Mint — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
