A member of the Trump administration said Monday that there is “clear evidence” the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was vandalized despite the Department of Justice (DOJ) previously stating that the damage was caused by faulty installation and dropping a felony vandalism charge. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News that while most of the pool’s new blue liner was installed correctly, vandalism was responsible for some of the damage. There was vandalism in spite of what everybody says,” Burgum said.
Burgum’s comments come weeks after federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the felony case against Olympic canoeist David Hearn, saying newly obtained information showed that damage to the Reflecting Pool was caused by an incorrect installation by the contractor, rather than the vandalism initially alleged by Interior officials. The DOJ's position has created an unusual public split within the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has repeatedly maintained that vandals caused the damage, even after U.S.
Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office moved to dismiss Hearn's case. Newsweek reached out to the DOJ, the National Park Service and Pirro's office for comment via email. The controversy began after the Trump administration undertook a multimillion-dollar renovation of the historic pool earlier this year, including installing a new blue coating.
The project quickly encountered problems. The coating began peeling, and algae bloomed, raising questions about whether the new surface had properly adhered. Federal officials initially attributed some of the visible damage to vandalism.
The National Park Service told a court that Park Police responded on June 9 to reported damage that included caulk over foam sealant cut with a sharp knife or razor, as well as destruction of delaminating surface material. Hearn was subsequently charged with felony destruction of government property. But prosecutors later received additional Interior Department documents concerning the condition of the pool and the renovation.
In a filing seeking dismissal of the case, Pirro's office said the documents showed that the damage was the result of “flawed installation” by Atlantic Industrial Coatings and the rush to complete the project before the July 4 celebrations. The filing said the information had not been provided to prosecutors until after Hearn had been indicted and that the new evidence showed the damage was “not vandalism as initially represented by DOI.” A federal judge subsequently dismissed the case. The finding prompted Trump to publicly rebuke Pirro.
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