美国司法部长珍妮·皮罗周五提交文件，请求撤销对前奥运划艇选手大卫·赫恩的起诉[1]。皮罗在这份20页的文件中承认，检控机构起诉赫恩故意损坏林肯纪念堂反射池的指控缺乏依据[1]。内政部新提供的证据显示，反射池衬里的损坏源于承包商施工不当，以及为赶在美国250周年庆典前完工而仓促施工[1]。
赫恩的律师在周二的庭审动议中指出，检控机构"没有进行有意义的调查"就提出了重罪指控[1]。根据赫恩的说法，他在6月19日只是短暂接触了池边已脱落的涂层块[1]。承包商大西洋工业涂料公司因该项目获得了1470万美元的无招标合同[1]。
特朗普周一表示不满皮罗的撤诉决定，称她"认怂"和"像伞一样折叠"[1]。皮罗与特朗普在周一晚间进行了会面[1]。
U.S. Attorney General Kristen Helm moved Friday to drop charges against David Hern, a former Olympic rower, after acknowledging that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to support accusations that he intentionally damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.[1] A 20-page filing submitted by the Justice Department requested dismissal of the case.[1]
Internal evidence newly provided by the Department of the Interior revealed that Hern bore no responsibility for the pool's deterioration.[1] Instead, the damage resulted from contractor negligence and the rushed completion of the project ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary celebration.[1] Atlantic Industrial Coatings Company, the contractor involved, had received a $14.7 million no-bid contract.[1] Hern's defense team argued in court filings that prosecutors had "failed to conduct any meaningful investigation" before bringing felony charges.[1] According to Hern's account, on June 19 he only briefly made contact with coating chunks that had already peeled away from the pool's edge.[1]
The decision to dismiss the charges drew criticism from former President Donald Trump, who characterized Attorney General Helm on Monday as "caving" and "folding like an umbrella."[1] Helm met with Trump Monday evening.[1]