President Donald Trump might be eating his words after his Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation plan exploded in court.
Trump, 80, prioritized the renovation as part of his Washington makeover, but the $14 million project has turned into a disasterous mess.
Critics blamed the no-bid contracts awarded to companies chosen by his administration. Still, he blamed vandals and had people arrested.
Days after restoration began in April, massive algae blooms turned the Reflecting Pool into a green eyesore.
Then the newly applied “American flag blue” paint began peeling off the pool floor and floating to the surface.
Those blunders forced Trump to send a crew to drain the pool again in July for more costly repairs. Crews then surrounded the site with fencing and black tarps.
Trump blamed saboteurs for the damage. He repeatedly claimed vandals cut a 300 ft slit in the bottom of the Reflecting Pool with a knife.
He has yet to provide concrete evidence supporting the damage he claims. But a bombshell court filing reveals a damning detail he can’t explain.
Authorities later arrested three-time U.S. Olympian canoeist David Hearn and at least six others for allegedly defacing the landmark.
Hearn, 67, pleaded not guilty to one felony count of property destruction. He will stand trial in D.C. Superior Court on Sept. 28.
“I didn’t remove, tear, rip, break or destroy any of it,” he told NBC News. “The condition of the Reflecting Pool was the same after I stepped away from the water as it was before I got there.”
Hearn’s attorneys filed a motion on July 27 regarding their evidence. The filing argues that “the pool was already damaged before Mr. Hearn allegedly touched it.”
They asked a judge to release the full grand jury record that led to the indictment, arguing it will show prosecutors improperly presented the case before jurors.
In the filing, Hearn argues transcripts from the grand jury have “irregularities” that are relevant to the charges against him.
Q: Are the contractors who did the initial work for the Reflecting Pool to blame for the current condition?
Trump: No, no. Vandals! We have a 300 foot slit right through it. Probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind. They went in there with a knife. pic.twitter.com/WVHczmHcY5
— FactPost (@factpostnews) June 22, 2026
It states, “That the same repairs would have been required regardless of Mr. Heam’s conduct; and that he could not quantify any loss attributable to that conduct.”
Additionally, the defense also pointed out that for a felony malicious destruction of property charge, the accused assailant must have caused damage of $1,000 or more.
The filing also cited “other irregularities” in the government’s presentation to the grand jury, arguing they “call into question” whether jurors were misled or influenced to indict Hearn.
Internet users weighed in on whether federal prosecutors, led by U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro, will be able to convict Hearn.
“They have no video showing he did what he is charged with,” one Yahoo reader commented. “His case will be dismissed, or he is found not guilty,”
A second person on the website stated, “What a waste of government resources. Ridiculous. Talk about weaponization of the law.”
Trump caught heat when someone commented, “There was no vandalism. Unless you consider presidential incompetence to be vandalism.”
“This is all because a sociopath is unwilling to admit his way overpaid, no-bid donor screwed up the job,” read a similar response.
Another poster expressed, “What an awful job this administration is doing. Worst ever. They can’t even fix a pool with a 10 million dollar budget!!!”
“The entire proceeding was a complete sham,” declared a Trump critic. “Prosecutors should be embarrassed that this even went to court.”
That person continued, “Meanwhile, the Orange Idiot is tearing the White House apart, and all one hears is crickets. This entire administration, along with his minions, is beyond ridiculous.”
Trump has spent a lot of his second run as president focusing on transforming the nation’s capital into his image by promoting various vanity projects across Washington.
In particular, the American commander in chief faced significant backlash for having the White House’s East Wing demolished to build a $400 million to $600 million ballroom.
The MAGA leader has also changed the historic White House Rose Garden into a Mar-a-Lago-style patio and filled the Oval Office with gaudy, gold decorations.
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