Judge dismisses vandalism case against ex-Olympian over Reflecting Pool

A federal judge on Thursday formally dismissed a Justice Department case that had accused former Olympian David Hearn of felony vandalism of the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. Judge Todd Edelman declined to immediately rule on a request from Hearn's attorneys to bar prosecutors from bringing the same charges again, asking for further arguments before deciding.

The dismissal came nearly a week after prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington acknowledged in a court filing that President Donald Trump's $14 million renovation of the Reflecting Pool was "hasty and botched" and that there was no evidence Hearn had criminally damaged it. Hearn's lawyers said in a statement that "this case never should've been brought in the first place," calling the Justice Department's decision to seek an indictment "a miscarriage of justice."

The reversal angered Trump, who criticized U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro publicly and privately for rescinding the case, though he did not fire her or ask for her resignation during a White House meeting Monday. Pirro's office had asked the judge to dismiss the case "without prejudice," leaving open the possibility of refiling it later, while Hearn's attorneys pushed for a more permanent dismissal.

In his order, Edelman noted that both sides agreed the case should be dismissed but disputed how. Hearn's lawyers told the court this week they feared political pressure from Trump could lead to the charges being revived, writing that the dismissal had become "the subject of an ongoing apparent public disagreement within the Executive Branch itself."

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