Jeanine Pirro’s office dropped the three remaining Reflecting Pool cases over the weekend, just days after her decision to abandon the lead felony case against Olympic canoeist David Hearn set off a public rift with the White House.
Courts dismissed the misdemeanor charges against Justin Carreno, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Cameron Thiers, all accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool alongside Hearn. Pirro’s office had moved to drop Hearn’s felony case Friday, saying the damage stemmed from a flawed contractor installation rather than vandalism. A judge has yet to formally rule on that request.
Read: On the Reflecting Pool, the White House Has an Explanation: Vandals Did It!
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In her filing, Pirro pinned the reversal on the Interior Department, arguing it gave her office “less than fulsome information” before prosecutors ever sought an indictment.
President Donald Trump, Pirro and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum met at the White House on Monday, CNN reported, after Trump had publicly said Pirro “choked” and accused her of folding under pressure from a judge. Burgum rejected Pirro’s account of the case, saying his department provided “every piece of evidence they asked for.”
Trump, notably, hasn’t turned any of his public anger on Burgum, even though it’s Interior’s reporting that Pirro’s office blames for the original indictment. He still maintains vandals were responsible.
Two sources told CNN Pirro’s removal remains “highly likely,” though Trump has made no final decision. Her tenure has faced other headwinds too — courts have thrown out close to a dozen of her office’s gun prosecutions on constitutional grounds, and only four of her first eight criminal trials this year ended in convictions.
Hearn’s attorney, Michael Bromwich, said he’s still considering bar complaints and other legal action over the original charge.
One Response
Last thing he will do is take responsibility for hiring a cheap and fast contractor of his own (probably taking kick backs)……it has to be vandalism. It can never be his fault. The narcissism is real. Wake up America.