US admits Reflecting Pool damage due to botched renovation, drops charges against former Olympian

The US Justice Department on Friday dropped its case against a former Olympian accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying the hurried renovations ordered by President Donald Trump had been botched. David Hearn, 67, had been charged with felony vandalism in federal court, which carried a potential sentence of 10 years in jail. Federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro had announced the charges in a high-profile press briefing earlier this month, saying witnesses had viewed Hearn "forcefully and violently" pulling up the pool's new liner on June 19. But in a court filing on Friday, Pirro said new revelations "undermine the evidentiary basis for the indictment," and moved for dismissal. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: TRUTH OR FAKE © FRANCE 24 05:13 She said that new documents indicate that the damage to the landmark "was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented" by the Interior Department. Trump had person...