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President Trump is asking the Justice Department (DOJ) to reconsider its move to drop criminal charges against those accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, continuing to assert vandalism was to blame for its appearance.
Trump specifically urged U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro to “re-visit her hastily made decision” in a Friday Truth Social post.
Despite the president’s claims, Pirro’s office has said contractors who led renovation efforts on the national monument were responsible for the damage.
The president shared a screenshot of an X post made by freelance photographer Andrew Leyden, which Trump claimed showed proof of vandalism in the pool. Leyden captioned his original pictures claiming he had seen “cuts in the expansion joints on the side of the Reflecting Pool.”
“The material was cut right where the video tape showed, for 300 feet or more. People were on their knees with their hands in the water at the exact location of the ‘slashes,’” Trump wrote. “Additionally, there were witnesses to the VANDALISM, and the flexible areas of the material were cut with a knife.”
The statement came just days after the DOJ filed a nolle prosequi for three individuals accused of vandalizing the pool, meaning it’s no longer looking to press charges. The department also dropped charges against David Hearn, a three-time Olympic canoeist.
Trump publicly disagreed with the investigations’ conclusions, saying to reporters in the Oval Office Monday that Pirro “folded like an umbrella” and “choked.” His response sparked widespread speculation around Pirro’s job security — as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche deferred questions about the matter to Trump.
“If President Trump wanted to fire anybody within his administration, he understands he has the power to do that. So, when he makes a decision about whether to fire a U.S. attorney or anybody else, that’s his call,” Blanche told reporters on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Trump said he had not “made a determination yet” on Pirro’s as a U.S. attorney — a role appointed by the president.
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