Trump lashes out at Pirro after Reflecting Pool case dropped


Channel: CNN
Uploaded by CNN on 20260803
Categories: News & Politics
Tags: latest news, Happening Now, CNN, Jeanine Pirro, DC US Attorney, DOJ, Department of Justice, Washington DC, Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Reflecting Pool, Trump Renovation, Trump Vanity Project, Reflecting Pool Renovation, Algae Bloom, David Hearn, Manu Raju, Inside Politcs, Wolf Blitzer, The Situation Room, Dana Bash, State of the Union, Kristen Holmes, Elliot Williams, Tia Mitchell, John Bresnahan, Sunlen Serfaty, Rep. Jim Jordan
The Justice Department on Friday said the rush to complete President Donald Trump’s renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool led to “hasty and botched work,” shedding new light on the problems behind the Washington landmark’s $14 million facelift. In delivering a sharp contradiction to weeks of claims from Trump and Int

Here is a detailed summary of the CNN report regarding the controversy over the National Mall Reflecting Pool:

Overview of the Conflict: President Trump publicly disagreed with U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro [00:15], after her office dropped cri

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minal charges against a 67-year-old former Olympic canoeist, David Hearn [00:07, 09:09]. The administration had previously blamed vandals for damaging the newly upgraded $14 million Reflecting Pool [00:08], but Pirro's office reversed course, stating the damage was actual

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ly due to a botched installation and a rushed timeline ahead of the July 4th holiday [06:33].

Legal Filings and Accusations: In a sharp court filing, the U.S. Attorney's Office accused the Department of the Interior of providing "less than fulsome information" and mislead

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ing federal prosecutors [03:15, 03:41]. Legal analysts on the panel noted that prosecutors risk their law licenses by pursuing cases lacking factual support or legal basis [05:35], making this an extraordinary public clash between cabinet and sub-cabinet departments [03:3

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5].

Administration's Stance: Despite the dropped charges, President Trump took to Truth Social to state that he disagrees "100% with Pirro," maintaining that the damage was a pure case of vandalism [00:23]. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also defended the administration's

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position, asserting that eyewitness testimony, photographs, and video evidence proved intentional vandalism by individuals using box cutters [04:41, 08:54].

Next Steps: While the criminal case against the former Olympian has been dismissed [07:57], defense attorneys indi

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cated that civil litigation could be pursued [08:25], and questions remain regarding federal oversight of the contractors involved in the project [07:57].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNhyFUKcnog

Trump lashes out at Pirro after Reflecting Pool case dropped

CNN · 216K v

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Viewer Discussion & Comments

@CNN
What a new Justice Department filing says about the ‘botched’ Reflecting Pool renovation: https://bit.ly/4pQPJGR
@donvonschitzinpantz
The algae infested Reflecting Pool Fiasco is a perfect metaphor for the tRUMP Regime!
@willardhall1267
Mr. President are the vandals in the room with us now?
@KRS-i5c
He can't stand being caught in a lie. Everyone that works with him has to lie to keep their jobs
@TKnuckles333
The psychopath wants to send an innocent man to prison to protect his ego and reputation.
@blasterbob
Seems our National Hemorrhoid can’t tolerate being legally contradicted.
@samlowry9276
Zero repercussions for lying and trying to frame an olympian. So many lies
@tylerkochman1007
It WAS a pure case of vandalism. By Trump and his contractors
@Brutus83
$14 million down the drain.
@carrot595
weren't the vandals filmed driving a cavalcade through the "pool" ??
@fawk501
The President wants a scapegoat; find one, even if they're not guilty. Scary time for everyone.
@ld4974
We've gone from "the emperor has no clothes" to the emperor is batshit crazy.
@englewoodmusic
They're all eventually going to end up in a VERY bad place...
@skyvision23
The issue is bigger, they obviously lied to the grand jury to get the indictment and her law license is now in jeopardy
@patépété
So… where are the "tremendous" evidence?