President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro “choked” in deciding to dismiss the indictment of a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.“I think she choked because the judge was really vicious,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened.”Trump has maintained that the problems with the Reflecting Pool following his multimillion-dollar renovation were the result of vandalism and lambasted Pirro for not keeping up the fight.
Blue paint peeling from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Thursday, June 18, 2026, in Washington. (Graeme Jennings/Washington Examiner)
“Really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,” Trump said. “She folded like an umbrella, and people get away with things, and it’s a disgrace.”Pirro filed the motion to dismiss the indictment against former Olympian David Hearn on Friday, admitting that the tears in the pool’s liner were the result of “flawed installation by the contractor.” She faulted the Interior Department for not providing her with the full scope of information.On Monday, Trump defended the contractor’s work and detailed the process of renovating the landmark. “We did a great job,” he said. “We got very expensive material to put on top of the surface that always leaked because it was stone.”When asked if he would reconsider Pirro’s role due to her motion to dismiss in the Reflecting Pool case, Trump ripped the reporter for asking such a question. “You’re fake news. Don’t ever talk again. You’re fake news,” he said. But recent reporting from CNN suggests the president is considering removing Pirro for her conclusion that vandals were not responsible for damages to the pool.In her filing, Pirror particularly faulted the contractor for “rushing” the project in order for it to be completed in time for events celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s founding. “It was not until after the return of the indictment, that the DOI provided additional documents to the USAO-DC indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings (‘AIC’), and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026,” the court filing to dismiss the DOJ’s initial indictment reads.The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as seen on Monday, July 13, 2026, in Washington. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that crews would drain the pool for a second time for repairs and cleanup following months of maintenance problems. (Graeme Jennings/Washington Examiner)
