President Trump Retains Jeanine Pirro After She Drops Charges Against David Hearn for Reflecting Pool Vandalism
President Trump did not fire his longtime ally Jeanine Pirro after she requested to drop the felony charges against former Olympian David Hearn for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Despite the president's frustration with Pirro's decision, the administration announced that the $14 million renovation project resulted in a botched installation rather than the vandalism Trump insisted occurred. Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, argued in a court filing that the damage to the pool's liner was caused by contractor error and that the Department of the Interior provided insufficient information. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, however, supported the president's claims of vandalism. While Trump expressed public disappointment with Pirro, describing her decision as a 'terrible mistake,' he chose to keep her in her position. The case against Hearn, who faced a maximum of ten-year prison sentence, remains a point of contention between the president and his top federal prosecutor.
Sources
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Trump doesn’t fire Pirro at White House meeting hours after saying she ‘choked’ over Reflecting Pool case
CNN
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Opinion | Jeanine Pirro’s persecution of the Reflecting Pool defendants served its awful purpose
MS NOW
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Trump doesn’t understand why Pirro ‘did such a stupid thing’ but says he won’t fire her over reflecting pool betrayal
The Independent