“I haven’t made a determination," Trump said Aug. 5 when asked if he planned to keep Pirro in her job, speaking after an event in California.Show Caption
President Donald Trump said he hasn't decided whether to fire U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a longtime ally who drew his ire after dropping charges against an Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.“I haven’t made a determination," Trump told reporters Aug. 5 when asked whether he planned to keep Pirro in her job, speaking after an event in California.Trump has insisted for weeks that the newly renovated pool's peeling lining was caused by vandals. Pirro’s legal filing dismissing the felony destruction of property case against Olympic canoeist David Hearn contradicts the president’s assertions, prompting him to lash out repeatedly at Washington, D.C.'s top federal prosecutor in recent days.Pirro's office said in dismissing Hearn's case that Interior Department documents show that “the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism.”The filing describes "flawed" work by the contractor amid a "rush to complete" the Reflecting Pool project and said charges never would have been filed against Hearn if the Interior Department had been forthcoming about the renovation problems.The Department of Justice subsequently dismissed charges against three other individuals accused of vandalizing the pool.Trump said Pirro "choked" and "folded like an umbrella" in deciding not to prosecute Hearn, criticizing her during an Aug. 3 Oval Office event. He met with Pirro at the White House later that day.The president has continued to insist without evidence that the Reflecting Pool damage was caused by nefarious actors, telling reporters during his California trip "it was major vandalism.""I just think she was totally wrong," Trump said of Pirro, a former Fox News host he appointed last year as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, adding: "I told her I was not happy.”Trump has touted the Reflecting Pool renovations as part of a broader Washington makeover, saying he wanted to spruce up the pool ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary celebration last month, but the project has been plagued by problems, including the peeling lining and algae blooms.Contributing: Erin Mansfield
