(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump acknowledged on Sunday that there was “no video or proof” of alleged vandalism to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after weeks of claiming that damage to the pool’s surface was the deliberate work of saboteurs.
Even after acknowledging contractor error and a lack of evidence of vandalism on Sunday, the president still went back to the case against former Olympian David Hearn, whose charges prosecutors moved to drop after new evidence revealed that the section Hearn was alleged to have damaged was already in disrepair when he arrived.
Trump nonetheless again accused Hearn — who pleaded not guilty to a felony destruction of property charge in July and has maintained he didn’t damage the pool — of intentional vandalism.
“There was substantial other damage to the Reflecting Pool, also but, unfortunately, there is no video or proof, other than the damage, itself,” Trump wrote on social media on Sunday.
Trump also said that there was “some contractor error done by rushing the job for a July 4th opening.”
The president said that contractors were “working on the Pool, and it will reopen shortly,” but said that “it was a very small area of this massive Pool” which was damaged, calling it “relatively inconsequential.”
“Security cameras have been, and are being, installed,” he added.
On Monday, Hearn’s lawyers said they were “reviewing all legal remedies” for what they described as “continued harassment.”
Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Fund, Mary Dohrmann of Washington Litigation Group and Steve Levin of Steptoe LLP said in a statement, “The government is continuing to attack an innocent man. Our first filing in the case on July 10 included photographic evidence from before Mr. Hearn touched the Reflecting Pool proving that he caused no damage. Our other filings provided even more proof.”
“Finally, the U.S. Attorney’s own motion on July 31 admitted the damage was caused by ‘a botched installation and not vandalism,'” the statement added, describing the continued allegations as “outrageous.”
Going back as early as June, the president has insisted that the damage to the Reflecting Pool — which he ordered resurfaced so the bottom would be “American flag blue” — was purposely destroyed by criminal vandals.
“I can’t help it if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up. And we also have pictures of it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on June 22. But asked if the president could share the photos, he demurred.
“No, at the right time you’ll see it. You’ll see it in court. You’ll see it in court. But all you have to do is call the Parks Department, call the Department of Interior,” Trump said at the time. But that evidence has not been released publicly.
The Justice Department moved to dismiss the case against Hearn in July, acknowledging the damage to the pool “was the result of flawed installation by the contractor.” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s motion sought to dismiss the case without prejudice, which could still leave Hearn exposed to a future indictment.
Last week, Associate Judge Todd Edelman issued an order granting in part the Department of Justice’s request to dismiss the case. Edelman said he would wait to determine whether to grant the dismissal with prejudice after hearing more arguments from the government and Hearn’s attorneys.
Trump criticized Pirro after her office moved to dismiss the case, writing in a post to social media on Aug. 1 that while there “may have been some contractor difficulty” in the installation of a new pool liner, “the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro,” Trump said in his post.
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.
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