Former Olympian David Hearn had been charged with vandalizing the Reflecting Pool. Witnesses said he pulled up some of the blue lining. U.S. Attorney in D.C., Jeanine Pirro, dropped the charges upon receiving a new report.
The DOJ says the damage to the pool was instead the result of a rushed and botched installation. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office blamed the contractor for overspraying and delamination.
In the new court filing, the office indicated it no longer stands behind the case against David Hearn, the three-time Olympic canoeist who pleaded not guilty to felony destruction of property earlier this month.
It was inappropriate for him to pull out part of the pool given the anti-administration propaganda, but not criminal. The administration should not have charged Mr. Hearn in the first place until they had all the evidence. His lawyer, Mr. Zaid, said he lost two jobs over it, and wants an apology.
There Is No Case Against David Hearn
Specifically, he didn’t damage or destroy the pool. The newly released documents reveal that work on installing the lining almost immediately fell behind schedule due to a combination of very rainy and windy weather, repeated failures to test the ceiling at the expansion joints, and delays in obtaining the ceiling product at the work site.
The rush to complete the project led to hasty, botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing was removed.
The Company and the Interior Department Have to Respond
So, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which was granted a multi-million dollar contract to perform the work, and the Interior Department are going to have to answer for it.
Prosecutors now say it’s evident some of the damage was in areas unlikely to be the result of vandalism. Given all this newly discovered information, it’s difficult to attribute the widespread damage of the reflecting pool to vandalism, let alone to establish the fact beyond a reasonable doubt; this will certainly be the center of gloating from some of those in the mainstream press who live to insult President Trump and everything he does.
President Trump disagrees with the decision to drop the case. However, there doesn’t appear to be a case against Mr. Hearn. Mr. Hearn probably just picked up a loose piece, as he said.
I suppose the media is having a field day with this because they were correct in saying there was no case and the repair was inadequate. I refuse to spend any more time on this. President Trump is restoring the dump that was the capital, and that’s what I consider an issue. The vandalism of the communist and anarchist contingents is being rectified, and for that I am eternally grateful. We want our capital to be beautiful. Even with the mistakes, it was done for far less money than the last botched job by Democrats.
