Trump Accuses Jeanine Pirro of 'Folding' After 'Disappointing Decision' to Drop Reflecting Pool Charges

Donald Trump has publicly rebuked Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, accusing her of 'folding like an umbrella' after prosecutors dropped felony vandalism charges over alleged damage to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, which had undergone a reported $15 million (£11.15 million) renovation.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he was 'really disappointed' with Pirro and suggested she had buckled under pressure from the judge overseeing the case. 'Frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious,' he told reporters, referring to District of Columbia Superior Court judge Todd Edelman. 'Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked.'

The row centres on the prosecution of former Olympic canoeist David Hearn and six others, who had been charged over alleged damage to the reflecting pool. Pirro's office had initially pursued the case as an instance of criminal property destruction before dismissing it last week.

Case Collapsed After Interior's Late Evidence

The Justice Department dropped the felony property destruction charge against Hearn, which had carried a potential sentence of up to ten years in prison and a $1,000 (£743.43) fine. Hearn had pleaded not guilty and consistently denied vandalism.

Prosecutors told the court they had received new documents from the US Department of the Interior only after Hearn's indictment.

According to a government filing, the records described 'a rushed and flawed installation process' for the pool's liner, citing repeated failures, peeling and pre-existing damage before the alleged vandalism on 19 June. The material indicated the damage 'was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented' by the Interior Department, prosecutors said.

Pirro's office maintained it had not been aware of evidence said to undermine the original case until the Interior Department produced the documents.

Trump Signals Pirro's Job May Be at Risk

Trump had already voiced his displeasure over the weekend in a post on Truth Social, writing: 'I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don't know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM.'

A source familiar with the matter said that Trump was 'furious' with Pirro and believed it was 'highly likely she's removed from her job'. A senior administration official said the president had been 'blindsided' by the decision to drop the case, adding that he 'did not know beforehand that she was going to do that'.

Asked in the Oval Office whether he was reconsidering Pirro's position, Trump declined to answer directly, telling the reporter: 'You're fake news. Don't ever talk again.'

Pirro was nominated by the president as interim US attorney for the District of Columbia last year and was confirmed by the Senate in August.

Clashing Accounts of What Damaged the Pool

The dispute has highlighted a gap between the political narrative Trump favoured, of protesters defacing a newly restored national monument, and the more technical account now offered by his own Justice Department, in which a flawed contractor installation, not activism, is cited as the cause of the damage.

Pirro's admission that key evidence arrived only after charges were filed has also raised questions about communication between federal investigators and prosecutors.

As of Monday, Pirro remained in post. Whether she retains the confidence of a president who has publicly accused her of choking on the case remains to be seen.