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Trump Disputes Justice Dept Findings on Reflecting Pool

New York Times Business •
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U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Saturday that he disagrees with his own Justice Department’s findings that a flawed installation, not vandalism, caused the lining of the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., to peel. “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM.”

In a court filing on Friday, Pirro and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Spence asked a judge to drop the Trump administration’s case against David Hearn, 67, a former Olympian the DOJ accused of vandalizing the pool. The renovated pool had quickly developed algae blooms that tinted the water green, while pieces of the blue lining had peeled off.

The DOJ documents indicated a rushed and flawed installation process, with repeated failures of the lining during the installation and extensive peeling throughout the Reflecting Pool. Trump suggested prosecutors overstated the effects of a bad installation, insisting the major damage was caused by VANDALS.

Trump also shared a U.S. Park Police video that he claimed showed vandals at the site while workers were removing algae, although the clip does not clearly show sabotage. Pirro’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.