A judge in Washington dismissed a felony vandalism charge on Thursday against a former Olympic canoeist who had been accused of damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, ending an embarrassing saga for the Justice Department and the top prosecutor in Washington.
In a two-page order, Judge Todd E. Edelman of the Superior Court in Washington approved a request last week by federal prosecutors, led by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in the city, to drop the case against the Olympian, David Hearn.
The prosecutors had concluded in their request that the “widespread damage” to the pool’s blue lining was caused by a “botched” renovation ordered by President Trump ahead of America’s 250th anniversary earlier this year, contradicting Mr. Trump’s claim that vandals had cut the lining with knives.
Judge Edelman deferred the question of whether to prevent the charge from being brought again. Ms. Pirro’s office moved to dismiss it without prejudice, meaning it could theoretically be brought again, but Mr. Hearn’s lawyers had asked to dismiss it with prejudice.
“This whole thing has been really surreal and absurd,” Mr. Hearn said in an appearance on CNN Thursday evening. “I think a lot of people feel that way. Again, it’s a relief, but there’s a detachment to that relief of extreme concern for other people and for our country.”
Earlier this month, Ms. Pirro, an ally and friend of Mr. Trump’s going back decades, had echoed the president’s claims of vandalism, claiming in a televised news conference that there was “tremendous evidence” that Mr. Hearn, 67, had committed a felony, and noting that he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Three weeks later, Ms. Pirro told the court her prosecutors had been misled by the Interior Department, which had awarded a no-bid contract to a first-time government contractor to overhaul the iconic landmark. The pool’s new coating had actually started to peel almost immediately after the project’s completion, she said, adding that the Interior Department had kept that fact from prosecutors.
Ms. Pirro’s reversal incurred the wrath of Mr. Trump, in both public and private. Soon after she moved to drop the charges, Mr. Trump repeated his claim that the damage was caused by vandals, writing on social media “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro,” adding, “I don’t know what she was thinking?” On Monday, Mr. Trump accused Ms. Pirro in front of television cameras of “folding like an umbrella” and “choking” on the case.
The episode culminated in a consequential showdown in the Oval Office between Ms. Pirro, who appeared to be fighting for her job, and Mr. Trump, with Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, in attendance. Ms. Pirro told Mr. Trump that Mr. Burgum had misled him with a self-serving cover story for his own mistakes. Mr. Trump seemed considerably less angry by day’s end, and Ms. Pirro emerged from the meeting with her job intact, for now.