Donald Trump said he was still considering whether he should fire longtime ally and US Attorney for Washington DC Jeanine Pirro.
The President met with Pirro Monday after saying that she ‘choked’ and ‘folded like an umbrella’ when lawyers in her office dismissed charges against US Olympian David Hearn, accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Speaking to reporters in Los Angeles before boarding Air Force One Tuesday night, he commented on the fate of the former Fox News star.
‘I haven’t made a determination,’ he said when asked point blank if Pirro was ‘safe’ and was going to be kept in her job.
‘I told her I was not happy,’ he added.
Trump continued to insist on Tuesday night that the pool had been vandalized and defended the contractors.
‘I just think she was totally wrong. They did a beautiful job, there were a couple of little things but that was not a big deal and everybody saw the vandalism, all you have to do is look at the tape,’ he said.
‘Plus, we have a witness or two witnesses that saw the vandalism, so certainly there was vandalism. In my opinion, it was major vandalism.’
Donald Trump said he hasn’t decided yet whether to fire longtime ally and US Attorney for Washington DC Jeanine Pirro
The President met with Pirro (pictured) after saying that she ‘choked’ and ‘folded like an umbrella’ when lawyers in her office dismissed charges against US Olympian David Hearn, accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
The President appeared to be livid with Pirro after lawyers in her office dismissed charges against Hearn.
‘I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,’ Trump said angrily to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.
‘She folded like an umbrella, and people get away with things, and it’s a disgrace.’
Pirro, a former judge and district attorney, joined Fox News in 2006 before she was appointed by Trump as the US Attorney for Washington, DC in May 2025.
‘Frankly, I think she choked,’ Trump said, adding: ‘I don’t know what the hell happened.’
Pirro was spotted by reporters entering the West Wing on Monday evening, presumably to meet the president.
The President was personally involved with the $16 million renovation of the pool as part of his goal to beautify Washington, DC ahead of America’s 250th anniversary.
After the high-profile and speedy renovation, portions of the liner detached from the bottom of the pool and floated toward the surface in June, sparking public mockery of Trump’s project.
Pirro’s office moved to dismiss the charges of federal vandalism against Hearn after he was spotted reaching into the water of the reflecting pool to examine a piece of detached reflecting pool liner in June.
The President appeared to still be livid with Pirro after lawyers in her office dismissed charges against US Olympian David Hearn, accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
David Hearn (pictured), the former Olympian accused of vandalizing Trump’s restored Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, had his charges dismissed
US Park Police arrested Hearn, and he was subsequently indicted on a single felony count of property destruction. Hearn pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The court filing released Friday cited new evidence in the case that ‘undermines the evidentiary basis for the indictment’ and dismissed the case.
The filing revealed that new documents indicated that the damage to the pool ‘was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented’ by the Interior Department.
‘Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt,’ the filing states.
The Justice Department knew or should have known for weeks that its case against a former Olympian charged with intentionally damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was flawed, and that he bore no responsibility for longstanding problems at the landmark, defense lawyers said Tuesday.
Lawyers for Hearn on Tuesday urged a judge to permanently dismiss the case and foreclose the possibility that the Trump administration could revive it.
They took issue with Pirro’s assertion that prosecutors only recently learned about the pre-existing defects at the pool, saying the government had ‘disregarded readily available evidence’ that the liner was already failing because of installation flaws.
‘From the outset, the evidence showed that the pool liner was already failing and that Mr. Hearn did not cause the damage alleged in the indictment,” Hearn’s legal team argued in a 28-page motion filed Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court.
Investigations showed the damage was the result of a ‘flawed installation by the contractor.’ Hearn shared this photo he took of the pool’s peeling lining with the Daily Mail
Hearn claimed that the Trump administration was trying to build a false narrative that issues with the Reflecting Pool were due to vandalism. Workers are pictured cleaning the pool
The poor condition of the pool was ‘plainly visible’ for weeks and was publicly documented through photographs, video and news reports, the lawyers wrote.
‘Defying both decency and common sense, the government proceeded to indict Mr. Hearn before it had obtained or evaluated the information necessary to establish a good-faith basis for the charge,’ the defense attorneys wrote.
In addition, they say, the government’s key eyewitness was never presented to the grand jury, and a key prosecution witness on the question of damages ‘stated that the repairs at issue would have been necessary regardless of Mr. Hearn’s alleged conduct and could not identify any additional cost caused by Mr. Hearn.’
The contractor, Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, ‘publicly acknowledged, before Mr. Hearn was indicted, that portions of the project required repair,’ the lawyers said.
The firm was awarded a $14.7 million no-bid contract to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.
Hearn pleaded not guilty last month to one felony count of property destruction and had a trial scheduled to start September 28 in DC Superior Court before the case was dismissed.
He was facing a maximum prison sentence of 10 years if convicted, as he was accused of causing at least $1,000 in damage to the pool.
Trump appointed the former Fox host to her role in his administration last year after his initial pick, Ed Martin, could not be confirmed because of Republican senator holdouts.
Pirro’s tenure has been plagued with failures to prosecute the president’s political opponents, despite his adamant attempts to do so. She was unable to indict former Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell for alleged wasteful spending.
The former Fox host was also unable to secure indictments against six Democratic lawmakers who had posted a video reminding US military personnel of their obligation to refuse illegal orders.
And prosecutors under her watch likewise failed to indict vocal Trump critic New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged bank fraud and alleged false statements regarding a property purchase.
