Judges dismisses Reflecting Pool case permanently, cites risk Trump will force new charges
A Washington judge on Thursday dismissed the Reflecting Pool vandalism case against former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn with prejudice, barring prosecutors from refiling the same charges in the future.
In a court order, D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman said he was blocking the possibility of a revived prosecution in light of the case’s “exceptional circumstances” — including “political pressure” from President Donald Trump.
Edelman noted that Trump, who ordered renovations to the Lincoln Memorial’s pool this year, angrily lashed out at D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro after she moved to dismiss the case and admitted that damage to the water feature was caused by a “flawed installation,” not vandalism.
Trump has continued to claim that vandals cut a gash hundreds of feet long in the protective lining of the pool.
“While all defendants deal with some degree of uncertainty regarding the odds of re-prosecution after a case has been dismissed, Mr. Hearn faces the unique possibility that the government will revive this case – one that it has already announced to be meritless – based on political pressure brought by the President of the United States upon his subordinate officers,” Edelman wrote.
“The Court respects the authority of the Office of the United States Attorney to decide which cases to prosecute and which to dismiss,” the judge wrote in the order, which was shared with CNBC by Hearn’s attorneys.
“However, in the exceptional circumstances posed by this case, the government has no right to retain the ability to compound the errors it has already made, or even to threaten to do so, at Mr. Hearn’s expense,” Edelman wrote.
Prosecutors sought a dismissal without prejudice. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Spence told Edelman in a court hearing last month, “I do think there is a public interest in allowing a grand jury at a future date” to issue an indictment if new information comes to light.
Hearn’s attorneys replied in that hearing that there is “no valid reason” to keep the case alive.
In a statement later Thursday morning, Hearn’s counsel called the dismissal with prejudice “a victory for the rule of law and for an innocent American seeking justice.”
“This case never should have been brought in the first place,” the statement said. “What happened to Mr. Hearn is an outrage that should shock every American.”
The White House and Pirro’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on the judge’s order.
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
