White House pushes Justice Department to revisit dropped vandalism case against ex-Olympian

The White House has approached officials at the Department of Justice's Washington headquarters asking them to weigh reviving a case against former Olympian David Hearn, according to a person familiar with the matter. Hearn had previously been accused of vandalizing the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial.

Charges against Hearn were dropped on 31 July by Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, who attributed the pool's damage to a flawed installation by a contractor rather than vandalism. In a 20-page filing, Pirro's office explained that evidence showed the damage predated Hearn's visit, making it difficult to pin the widespread damage on vandalism or prove it beyond reasonable doubt. Hearn has said he only touched a piece of lining that had already come loose from the pool while on a bike ride in June.

President Donald Trump has publicly criticized Pirro over the dismissal, saying she "choked." The White House's request to the Justice Department is considered unusual, since the department traditionally operates independently from the White House to preserve impartiality and avoid any appearance of political interference.

The Justice Department did not directly confirm whether new charges were being considered, saying only that it evaluates cases based on facts and law. A White House spokesperson likewise declined to directly confirm the request, instead referring inquiries to the Justice Department and pointing to Trump's social media posts urging Pirro to reconsider.

Hearn's lawyers, Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann and Steve Levin, said in a statement that if true, reviving a case the department itself admitted it lacked evidence to win would be an unprecedented and troubling development that would further harm an innocent man.

Attorney General Todd Blanche, recently confirmed by the Senate, praised Pirro but avoided directly addressing the dismissal decision, saying he generally does not approve or disapprove of US attorneys' individual decisions, while acknowledging the president has the authority to remove a US attorney from office.