A judge has permanently dismissed the charges against a former Olympic canoeist accused of damaging the Reflecting Pool, citing pressure from the president as a key reason for the dismissal.
Judge Todd Edelman dismissed with prejudice the vandalism charges against David Hearn, meaning federal prosecutors cannot refile the case. The judge issued a 26-page ruling released Thursday explaining his decision.
The Charges Against Hearn
Hearn, 67, was arrested at the Reflecting Pool in June when its blue lining began peeling off in chunks. He was charged with one felony count of property destruction and indicted by a grand jury, though he pleaded not guilty.
In late July, Pirro’s office asked the judge to drop charges against Hearn and three others. Prosecutors cited new reports from the Department of the Interior and National Park Service admitting the damage was “the result of botched installation and not vandalism.”
The Case Ends
The dismissal with prejudice means the case is over. Federal prosecutors cannot refile the charges in the future. The ruling stands as a legal record of what happened.
Trump’s Response
When asked for comment, the White House pointed to three of Trump’s Truth Social posts from August blaming vandalism and disputing Pirro’s decision. Neither Pirro’s office nor the Department of Justice responded to NPR’s requests for comment.
Trump called Pirro’s decision to drop charges a mistake and personally attacked Hearn, calling him a “big player in ActBlue” and his lawyer “TRUMP DERANGED SLEAZEBAG, Political Hack Lawyer, Norm Eisen.”
What the Ruling Says
Edelman’s ruling lays out the chain of events in detail. The judge found that political pressure undermined the case from the start, and that prosecutors themselves acknowledged the damage was not caused by vandalism.
The ruling also notes that prosecutors admitted the government was no longer investigating the case.
The Judge’s Words
Edelman wrote that when asked in court what kind of hypothetical new evidence might prompt prosecutors to revisit the case, an unnamed assistant U.S. attorney “waxed philosophical, musing, ‘I don’t know what the future may bring. None of us do.'”
He says prosecutors could not provide any specific examples of such evidence, and “admitted that the government was no longer even investigating the case.”
“Given its own description of the existing evidence and the circumstances of this case, the development of contrary evidence seems practically inconceivable, and the possibility of a future meritorious prosecution strikes the Court as fanciful,” Edelman concluded.
Hearn’s Lawyers Respond
Hearn’s lawyers Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann, Steve Levin and Michael Bromwich called the ruling “a victory for the rule of law and for an innocent American seeking justice.” They said the case was “a miscarriage of justice” and “an outrage that should shock every American.”
Hearn told NPR in August his experience was “Kafkaesque” and “Orwellian” but he felt “very well equipped … to bring democracy back to me.”
The Case Is Closed
The dismissal with prejudice is permanent. The ruling stands as a legal record of what happened.
What Happens Next
The Reflecting Pool remains drained, empty and fenced off with no public timeline for repairs. The park service’s admission that the damage was the result of botched installation has not yet translated into a repair plan.
Key facts from the ruling:
- Judge Todd Edelman dismissed with prejudice the vandalism charges against David Hearn
- The dismissal means federal prosecutors cannot refile the charges in the future
- Edelman issued a 26-page ruling released Thursday explaining his decision
- The ruling cites “political pressure brought by the President of the United States upon his subordinate officers” as a key reason for dismissal
- Hearn, 67, was arrested at the Reflecting Pool in June when its blue lining began peeling off in chunks
- He was charged with one felony count of property destruction and indicted by a grand jury, though he pleaded not guilty
- In late July, Pirro’s office asked the judge to drop charges against Hearn and three others
- Prosecutors cited new reports from the Department of the Interior and National Park Service admitting the damage was “the result of botched installation and not vandalism”
- Trump disagreed and urged Pirro to revisit the case
- When asked for comment, the White House pointed to three of Trump’s Truth Social posts from August blaming vandalism and disputing Pirro’s decision
- Neither Pirro’s office nor the Department of Justice responded to NPR’s requests for comment
- Hearn’s lawyers Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann, Steve Levin and Michael Bromwich called the ruling “a victory for the rule of law and for an innocent American seeking justice”
- They said the case was “a miscarriage of justice” and “an outrage that should shock every American”
- Hearn told NPR in August his experience was “Kafkaesque” and “Orwellian” but he felt “very well equipped … to bring democracy back to me”
- Trump called Pirro’s decision to drop charges a mistake and personally attacked Hearn, calling him a “big player in ActBlue” and his lawyer “TRUMP DERANGED SLEAZEBAG, Political Hack Lawyer, Norm Eisen”
- An unnamed assistant U.S. attorney in court said only that “I don’t know what the future may bring. None of us do” when asked about hypothetical new evidence
- Edelman noted prosecutors admitted the government was no longer investigating the case
- The Reflecting Pool remains drained, empty and fenced off with no public timeline for repairs
The case is closed. The pool remains empty.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs the judge’s decision to dismiss the charges and is against the president’s pressure that the ruling cited as a key reason for the dismissal. When a judge cites presidential pressure as a reason to throw out a case, the judge has done his duty and the decision must stand.
The ruling itself makes clear that prosecutors admitted the government was no longer investigating the case, and that the damage was the result of botched installation, not vandalism. Those facts alone would justify dismissal. But the judge’s order to dismiss with prejudice — meaning the case can never be brought again — was made under the cloud of a president who insisted the charges stay on.
That is the problem here. A prosecutor’s office is supposed to decide cases based on the facts, not on what a president wants. When a president pressures his own subordinate officers to keep a case alive, he is using the machinery of government to settle personal scores. That is not how justice works, and it is not how democracy works either.
Source material: “A judge permanently dismisses former Olympian's Reflecting Pool charges,” NPR.
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