Trump disputes Justice Dept. on Lincoln Memorial pool damage

President Donald Trump has publicly challenged the findings of his own Justice Department regarding the damage to the Lincoln Memorial's reflecting pool. The department had concluded that the issues stemmed from faulty construction work, not vandalism, and recommended dropping charges against David Hearn, a former Olympic rower accused of damaging the pool's protective lining.

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I do not agree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, regarding the reflecting pool.

In a social media post, Trump stated he disagreed "100%" with federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro's assessment. While admitting there might have been "some contractor issues" during the installation of the pool's new membrane, the president maintained that significant damage was the result of vandalism.

The Justice Department's decision to drop the case against Hearn, who was accused of intentionally tearing a 60-centimeter section of the pool's membrane, followed new information. Documents filed in court indicated that the Department of the Interior's findings pointed to improper installation and pressure to complete the work before the United States' 250th-anniversary celebrations. A recent inspection revealed extensive damage across the pool, making it unlikely, according to prosecutors, that a single vandal could have caused such widespread destruction.

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It is possible that there were some contractor issues in the process of installing the new pool membrane.

Pirro's filing noted that "Given all this recently discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the extensive damage to the reflecting pool to an act of vandalism, let alone prove it beyond a reasonable doubt."

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Given all this recently discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the extensive damage to the reflecting pool to an act of vandalism, let alone prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.