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Charges Dropped in D.C.
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro brought a box of evidence to the White House on Monday, seeking to show President Trump that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by shoddy construction and not by vandals, CBS News reported.
“U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro, a staunch ally of the president, made the case”
CBS News said Pirro made the case in a sometimes heated private meeting in the Oval Office Monday, and that she was later photographed leaving the White House carting a large white box and other bags.
The dispute centered on the federal prosecutor’s decision to withdraw charges against David Hearn, an Olympic canoeist, with EL PAÍS saying Pirro removed the charges on Friday.
EL PAÍS also said Pirro withdrew on Monday the accusations against other three people arrested for the same alleged vandalism, while prosecutors argued the damage came from a “precipitada y chapucera” renovation process.
Trump vs. Pirro
Trump publicly attacked Pirro after the case was dropped, telling reporters in the Oval Office Monday that she “folded like an umbrella,” and that he thought she “choked.”
The Hill reported Trump said, “The judge was extremely unfriendly to Jeanine, and frankly, I think she choked,” after the Justice Department moved to drop the case over a “rushed and botched installation.”
EL PAÍS described Trump’s continued insistence that the defects were caused by vandals, saying the decision left “en evidencia al presidente” who kept defending vandalism as the cause.
The Hill added that Trump was weighing the possibility of removing Pirro, citing two people familiar with his thinking, and quoted a former Trump administration official saying admitting the White House was wrong “isn’t really good for her job security.”
Aftermath and What’s Next
The Reflecting Pool controversy is tied to a planned renovation for Independence Day celebrations, with EL PAÍS saying the work had to be ready for the 4 de julio and that authorities had to cover the pool with fences to hide defects.
“Tenía que estar lista para el 4 de julio”
EL PAÍS said the pool’s renovation was 620 metros de largo y 50 de ancho, and it described the project as part of Trump’s effort to redesign the capital for the 250º aniversario de la independencia de Estados Unidos.
The Hill reported that prosecutors blamed the firm granted a multibillion-dollar contract and the Interior Department for an initial “barebones” report, while CBS News said prosecutors later claimed they did not see critical evidence until after they secured the indictment.
In the aftermath, the case also expanded into questions about Pirro’s role, with The Hill noting she was tapped as interim U.S. attorney in May 2025 and confirmed by the Senate that August, as her clash with Trump raised questions about her standing.
