Pirro Drops 4 Reflecting Pool Cases as Filing Blames $14 Million Project's Flawed Installation
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 4
Pirro Drops 4 Reflecting Pool Cases as Filing Blames $14 Million Project's Flawed Installation
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 4
Summary
Four vandalism cases tied to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool were dropped after Jeanine Pirro’s office said contractor errors—not sabotage—caused the liner to peel and the water to cloud.
A 20-page filing said Atlantic Industrial Coatings rushed the job and that Interior withheld records showing rain delays, material shortages and peeling during installation that should have stopped prosecutors from indicting David Hearn.
Trump, who had touted the overhaul as a sub-$2 million, two-week showcase, attacked Pirro for "folding like an umbrella" and kept insisting vandals were caught on camera, though the footage he posted was inconclusive.
The renovation instead opened a month late and more than $12 million over Trump’s original estimate, then was drained again on July 10; the pool is now closed until Aug. 10 for more repairs.
The episode has become a political liability for Trump’s fast-tracked remaking of Washington, drawing Democratic investigations and skepticism from some Republicans over arrests made to defend a visibly failing project.