Trump says Pirro 'folded like an umbrella' in bid to drop Reflecting
Pool vandalism charges
[August 04, 2026]
By WILL WEISSERT
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. Attorney
Jeanine Pirro “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” in moving to drop
charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln
Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Speaking at an unrelated Oval Office event, Trump ducked questions about
whether he'd fire Pirro, a former Fox News host and longtime ally he
handpicked as top federal prosecutor in the nation's capital. But the
president kept up his drumbeat of sharp criticism, saying he remained
disappointed by her assessment that damage to the Reflecting Pool was
the result of shoddy construction, not vandalism.
“Frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious.
Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her
and went after her department, and I guess she choked,” Trump said in
response to a reporter's question after he signed an executive order for
military spouses. “I don’t know what the hell happened.”
The move to dismiss charges against David Hearn was an embarrassing
setback for the Justice Department and marked a rare moment during
Trump’s second term of an aide or political appointee openly defying
him.
After initially posting on social media over the weekend, “I disagree
100% with Jeanine Pirro,” Trump was still fuming two days later,
insisting for several minutes that vandalism had marred the troubled
project.
“I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed,” the
president said Monday. “She folded like an umbrella.”
Pirro seen later at the White House
Though she has not commented publicly since Trump's initial social media
post criticizing her, Pirro was spotted walking into the White House on
Monday evening. Also spotted was Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who has
been outspoken in defending the president's suggestions that vandalism
was to blame.
Hearn has said he was on a bike ride June 19 when he reached in to
examine the pool’s newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk
attached to the side of the pool. But he said he obeyed a park worker
who told him to let go of it.
Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said of Pirro, “All I know is,
you better not go before a federal judge and make allegations you can’t
back up.”
A lawyer who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kennedy added,
“They are very serious about it.”
“I think he’s going to sue” or file for compensation under the Federal
Tort Claims Act, Kennedy said of Hearn. “I mean, I would.”
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The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is seen from the Washington
Monument, Friday, July 31, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein)
Trump denies knowing the contractor, contradicting his own past
comments
Meanwhile, charges also have been dropped against three other people
charged in the same D.C. court with misdemeanors for allegedly
removing pieces of paint from the Reflecting Pool, according to
online court records.
Justin Carreno, Cameron Thiers and Sophie Dennison-Gibby all pleaded
not guilty during their initial court appearances last month. They
had been accused of destruction of property with a value less than
$1,000.
The president further used his Monday comments to distance himself
from the troubled project, which he had touted as part of his
overarching efforts to spruce up the nation's capital.
Trump said in April that he had consulted with a trio of firms that
had worked on swimming pools at his properties and that the one he
picked for the Reflecting Pool project had done work at his golf
course in Northern Virginia. That firm was Virginia-based Atlantic
Industrial Coatings, which was awarded a $14.7 million no-bid
contract to repaint and waterproof its concrete floor.
“I have a guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools,” Trump
said then. “He looked at it. He called me up. He said, ‘Sir, we can
do something on it.’”
But the president insisted Monday that “I didn’t know the
contractor” and for the first time hinted that he wasn't pleased by
the work that was done to get the Reflecting Pool ready in time for
Independence Day celebrations.
“I’m not saying I was 100% thrilled with the contractor, but the
contractor was rushing. We wanted to get it open for July 4th,” he
said.
Crews drained the Reflecting Pool weeks ago to launch a new round of
repairs. The White House hasn't said when those might be finished or
how much more they will cost, but the Trump administration did not
seek new bids from other companies on the new round of repair work.
Trump also said Monday that the Reflecting Pool would be “fixed” and
reopened in the next week and a half to two weeks — without
providing further details.
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Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Mary Clare Jalonick
contributed to this report. |
