Jeanine Pirro Meets Donald Trump After Dropping Reflecting Pool Charges

The meeting followed a weekend of public friction between the president and his longtime ally. Donald Trump had spent the preceding days criticizing Pirro for a Justice Department reversal that shifted the blame for damage to the Reflecting Pool from malicious vandals to a flawed installation by the contractor.

The Reflecting Pool Vandalism Case and David Hearn

The controversy centers on David Hearn, a three-time Olympic canoeist who was arrested at the Reflecting Pool in late June. He was charged with a felony for allegedly causing more than $1,000 in damage. Hearn pleaded not guilty, maintaining that he only touched a piece of the liner that had already peeled from the bottom.

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On Friday, August 1, Pirro’s office moved to dismiss the felony indictment. In a 20-page filing, she stated that new information made it difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism. The filing cited internal National Park Service communications from June 11—more than a week before Hearn’s arrest—that already raised concerns about the peeling liner.

Along with the Hearn case, the Justice Department dropped misdemeanor charges against three other individuals—Justin Carreno, Cameron Thiers, and Sophie Dennison-Gibby—who had been accused of destroying property valued at less than $1,000.

Trump Rebukes Jeanine Pirro for Dropping Reflecting Pool Vandalism Cases

Trump’s Accusations that Pirro ‘Folded Like an Umbrella’

President Trump reacted to the dismissal with public indignation, first via a Saturday social media post where he questioned what she was thinking and asserted that it was a pure case of vandalism. During an Oval Office event on Monday, he intensified his rhetoric, claiming Pirro had folded like an umbrella.

President Donald Trump, via ABC News, stated that the judge was extremely unfriendly to Jeanine and that he believed she choked because the judge was really vicious.

Despite the president’s insistence that vandals used knives or boxcutters to destroy the pool, he simultaneously admitted a lack of satisfaction with the contractors. He noted that the contractor was rushing to meet a July 4th deadline, though he maintained that vandalism occurred in addition to any contractor errors.

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Contractor Disputes and the $14.7 Million No-Bid Deal

However, by Monday, the president’s narrative shifted. He claimed I didn’t know the contractor, contradicting his earlier assertions of a personal professional connection. This discrepancy mirrors the tension in the Justice Department’s filing, which argued that the Interior Department failed to provide critical information that would have prevented the initial grand jury indictment.

White House Visit and Future of Pirro’s Tenure

Pirro, who was appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia in May 2025, entered the White House on Monday afternoon. CNN cameras captured her leaving the West Wing later that evening wheeling a briefcase and carrying a white box, items that had reportedly been brought into the wing by an aide earlier in the day.

The visit occurred amid reports that Trump was furious and had privately discussed firing Pirro. One source told CNN that it is highly likely she’s removed from her job, while another described a Saturday phone call between the two as wasn’t pretty. During that call, Pirro allegedly argued that career prosecutors, rather than herself, were responsible for the filing.

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While Interior Secretary Doug Burgum rejected the Justice Department’s findings—stating on social media that the evidence is clear and vandals have repeatedly caused damage—Pirro has not yet been fired or resigned. The president deflected questions on Monday regarding her removal, though a White House official referred reporters back to his critical comments about her choking.

Legal Fallout and Next Steps

The collapse of the government’s case has left the door open for civil litigation. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana suggested that Hearn may sue for compensation under the Federal Tort Claims Act, noting that federal judges are very serious about allegations that cannot be backed up.