Attorneys for the former Olympic canoeist the Trump administration had charged in a felony Reflecting Pool case are seeking to permanently bar any effort to resurface what they called a “politically motivated prosecution” of their client.The case against David “Davey” Hearn was “motivated by political considerations and devoid of adequate factual support,” his attorneys said in a filing Tuesday, adding that the Justice Department “has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to seek or reinstate criminal charges to satisfy the President, irrespective of the law or facts.”The “sprint to charge” Hearn, they wrote, “mirrored the expedited timeline to complete the Pool renovations” that led to the damage in the first place.Hearn had been on a bike ride in June and stopped by the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where he was arrested after he allegedly touched material that the Trump administration had recently installed on the pool bottom.U.S.
Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro told reporters last month that her office could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hearn had caused at least $1,000 in damage to the Reflecting Pool, and her office convinced grand jurors to indict Hearn on a felony charge.But on Friday, Pirro’s team moved to dismiss the case against Hearn, admitting that internal Interior Department documents demonstrated that there had been extensive damage that was the result of a rushed and “botched” installation process.Pirro’s team also moved to dismiss misdemeanor cases brought against three others in connection with incidents at the Reflecting Pool.President Donald Trump wasn’t pleased.
He told reporters on Monday that Pirro “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” and claimed that she’s been facing a hostile judge, even though no judge had taken any substantive action in the case.Hours later, Pirro visited the White House, bringing with her an evidence box.
Former Olympian David Hearn outsid...