Trump White House asked Justice Dept to explore new Reflecting Pool charges, sources say

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump’s White House has asked the Justice Department to examine potential new charges related to alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool despite the department’s decision to drop prior cases, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The discussions followed Trump’s fury at Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in Washington, for moving to dismiss cases against former US Olympic canoeist David Hearn and others accused of damaging the pool following Trump-ordered renovations.

Pirro’s office dropped the case against Hearn after concluding that widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool, a landmark on Washington’s National Mall, was the result of flawed contracting work rather than intentional destruction, as Trump has repeatedly alleged.

The discussions, which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal, are an indication that the Trump administration could seek to revive those cases and are another example of the White House intervening in criminal investigations, in a sharp break from decades-long Justice Department practice.

Lawyers for Hearn said new charges would “add another bizarre turn to a sad chapter in the DOJ’s history and further harass an innocent man”.

The White House referred questions to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A local Washington, D.C., judge has dismissed the case against Hearn and is set to decide in the coming weeks whether to give prosecutors the opportunity to seek new charges or permanently end the prosecution.

The most recent conversations involved the Criminal Division at Justice Department headquarters, which typically manages complex cases on corporate fraud, international gangs and other issues, rather than Pirro’s office, whose remit includes local criminal cases in Washington, according to the two people familiar with the matter.

One of the people said the talks were aimed at exploring whether there was a basis to bring a misdemeanour case.

The conversations are preliminary and no final decision has been made.

Hearn was indicted last month on a felony destruction of property charge after Pirro initially alleged he forcibly pulled on and damaged the lining on the bottom of the Reflecting Pool while cycling in the area.

Hearn pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.

Less than a month later, prosecutors reversed course, telling a judge that newly disclosed documents showed that a botched renovation, not vandalism, damaged the pool.

Trump raged at Pirro’s decision to drop the case and urged her to revisit it.

He has continued to blame issues with the US$14.7 million project on vandals, despite acknowledging in a social media post on Aug 9 that there was no proof of sabotage. REUTERS