David Hearn Seeks to Block Reflecting Pool Felony Revival After $14.7 Million Renovation Fallout
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 14
David Hearn Seeks to Block Reflecting Pool Felony Revival After $14.7 Million Renovation Fallout
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 14
Summary
Thursday night, David Hearn’s lawyers asked a Washington court to bar prosecutors from refiling a felony charge that he vandalized the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The motion argues renewed charges are a real risk because President Trump publicly criticized the case’s dismissal and reports said the White House was exploring ways to bring new charges.
Judge Todd Edelman dismissed the case this month after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the damage stemmed from shoddy installation, not vandalism, and he set an early-September hearing on whether refiling should be blocked.
Pirro’s office had told the court that contractors mishandled the pool’s $14.7 million renovation, leaving widespread damage; the rushed repairs later produced a peeling blue liner and a major algae bloom.
Hearn, a three-time U.S. Olympian, was the only one of seven people arrested or cited in June to face a felony indictment, and all related misdemeanor charges were later dropped.