DOJ Drops Reflecting Pool Case, Admits Flawed Installation

The Justice Department moved to dismiss criminal charges against former Olympian David Hearn, saying damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by a botched installation, not vandalism.

The reversal embarrassed the Trump administration, which had vilified Hearn as a radical vandal.

Federal prosecutors admitted that hasty and poorly executed renovation work, ordered as part of a $14 million project before the nation’s 250th anniversary, was to blame.

The episode exposed how the White House had publicly jumped to conclusions without evidence.