White House Pushes New Charges Against Olympian After Reflecting Pool Case Fell Apart

The White House is pushing the Justice Department to bring new charges against former Olympian David Hearn after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro dropped the original Reflecting Pool vandalism case against him, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal.

Pirro dropped the case earlier this month after concluding the evidence didn't hold up. In her filing, she said the material presented to her office undercut "the evidentiary basis for the indictment," and pointed instead to "a rushed and flawed installation process" as the likely cause of the pool's peeling sealant. She went further, writing that it was "difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt."

Trump was furious. He publicly criticized Pirro for dropping the case against Hearn and the other defendants swept up in the vandalism prosecutions, though he's since softened, at one point conceding there was "some contractor difficulty" and "contractor error done by rushing the job for a July 4th opening." This week he took it further, admitting there's "no video or proof, other than the damage itself."

What's still unclear is what new charges the administration wants brought against Hearn. He'd pleaded not guilty to a single count of destroying property worth $1,000 or more, and his defense was simple: he says he briefly touched a piece of sealant that was already loose.

This whole saga traces back to Trump's $16 million Reflecting Pool renovation, which kicked off in April and has been a headache ever since.

The Journal reports the White House has not gotten a response yet from the Justice Department on whether it will pursue the new charges.