{
  "id": 17025,
  "title": "Trump lashes out at Pirro after she moves to drop Reflecting Pool vandalism case, saying 'flawed installation' to blame",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/trump-lashes-out-at-pirro-after-she-moves-to-drop-reflecting-pool",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-02T01:35:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "CNBC",
    "slug": "cnbc",
    "url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/31/trump-pirro-reflecting-pool-olympian-david-hearn.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the decision of his Justice Department on Saturday, which attributed the damage to the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to a flawed installation rather than vandalism. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, moved to dismiss an indictment against U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn for vandalizing the pool, arguing that the damage was caused by a poor installation. However, Trump vehemently disagreed with Pirro's explanation, stating that the issue was a clear case of vandalism. Trump also released a video purportedly showing vandals cutting the pool's liner, but Pirro claimed to have received new information indicating that the damage was due to a faulty installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings. Pirro's decision to drop the charges against Hearn may prevent the disclosure of potentially damaging information that the government initially withheld, according to her filing. The Interior Department did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.",
  "summary": "President Donald Trump had ordered the Reflecting Pool update as part of renovations in D.C. ahead of America's 250th birthday celebrations. The Justice Department has moved to drop its case against a former Olympian, with federal prosecutors seeking to dismiss an indictment charging David Hearn with damaging the Reflecting Pool.\n\nAccording to CBS News, the damage was caused by \"botched installation and not vandalism\". The New York Times reports that Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, blamed shoddy construction, while The Hill states that the move to drop the case validated criticism that the administration is weaponizing the Justice Department.\n\nPresident Trump disagrees with the findings of his own Department of Justice, which attributes the damage to faulty installation rather than acts of vandalism, as reported by Live Mint and The New York Times, with Trump saying he disagrees \"100%\" with Pirro's assessment.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/17025.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Fortune",
        "title": "Trump blasts Pirro after she admitted Reflecting Pool damage was caused by botched installation and blamed Interior Dept. for not sharing information",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/trump-blasts-pirro-after-she-admitted-reflecting-pool-damage-was",
        "published": "2026-08-01T21:19:13.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Live Mint",
        "title": "Trump rejects his own Justice Department's findings on Lincoln pool damage: ‘I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/trump-rejects-his-own-justice-departments-findings-on-lincoln-pool",
        "published": "2026-08-02T00:38:41.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}