In Dropping Reflecting Pool Case, Pirro Draws Trump’s Wrath
NYT > U.S. > Politics — 2026-08-01 19:49:00 — www.nytimes.com
Trump Doubles Down on Vandalism Claims Despite Evidence of Botched Renovation
President Trump has publicly rejected findings that undermine his repeated claims about vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool, a project he has called “highly prized” but which was plagued by a rushed and faulty renovation under his administration.
After U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a longtime Trump ally, dramatically reversed course and withdrew felony vandalism charges against ex-Olympian David Hearn—who was accused of damaging the pool’s lining—Trump took to Truth Social to express his displeasure. “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro,” Trump wrote. “I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM,” he insisted, adding, “There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
Pirro’s reversal came after her office obtained hundreds of megabytes of documents revealing that the damage to the pool was actually the result of “flawed installation by the contractor,” and a rush to finish the project before a major celebration. This directly contradicted Trump’s repeated assertions that left-wing vandals were to blame, including his claim that criminals had slashed the pool’s lining with a “knife or blade.”
Despite mounting evidence and a rare public admission of error from a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, Trump has refused to acknowledge the findings, instead doubling down on his original narrative. Critics, including Norman L. Eisen, a member of Hearn’s defense team, have pointed out that problems with the renovation were widely known and documented, and that Trump’s insistence on vandalism is not supported by the facts.
This episode highlights a broader pattern within the Trump administration, where officials have faced pressure to pursue prosecutions based on the president’s accusations, even when evidence does not support those claims. In this case, the Justice Department’s credibility suffered as grand juries increasingly rejected such indictments.
The controversy over the Reflecting Pool serves as a stark example of Trump’s willingness to maintain false or exaggerated claims in the face of clear evidence to the contrary, raising ongoing concerns about the administration’s approach to truth and accountability.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/us/politics/jeanine-pirro-trump-reflecting-pool.html