Judge Todd Edelman of the D.C. Superior Court dismissed the criminal case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn with prejudice, preventing prosecutors from refiling the same charges. The judge cited political pressure from President Trump as creating a risk the government could revive a case it had already described as meritless. Interior Department evidence showed the Reflecting Pool liner failed due to a flawed installation, not vandalism, prompting prosecutors to drop the case. The court rejected the government’s request to preserve the option to refile.
Judge Dismisses Reflecting Pool Case Against David Hearn, Citing Political Pressure From Trump
Judge permanently dismisses Reflecting Pool case against former Olympian, citing Trump pressure hero image
David Hearn, a former U.S. Olympic canoeist, saw criminal charges against him permanently dismissed by D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman on Thursday. In a rare step, Edelman dismissed the case with prejudice and cited political pressure from President Donald Trump as a factor that could lead the government to revive a case it had already deemed meritless.
Judge Blocks Refiling After Evidence Shows No Vandalism
The underlying indictment accused Hearn of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool by reaching into the pool and damaging its liner. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, led by Jeanine Pirro, moved to drop the charges after the Department of the Interior produced evidence showing the liner’s damage resulted from a flawed installation rather than intentional vandalism. Pirro’s filing noted the indictment would not have been pursued had that evidence been disclosed earlier.
Judge Edelman emphasized the unique risk to Hearn’s rights, warning that he “faces the unique possibility that the government will revive this case — one that it has already announced to be meritless — based on political pressure brought by the President of the United States upon his subordinate officers.”
President Trump, who ordered renovations to the pool, publicly criticized Pirro for dropping the case, according to reporting. Edelman’s order states Trump had pressed for the prosecution to be reinstituted, citing Hearn’s political activity and the identity of one of his attorneys, and had even raised the possibility of removing Pirro from her role.
Government Sought Dismissal Without Prejudice; Judge Rejected It
Pirro’s office asked for a dismissal without prejudice, which would have permitted prosecutors to refile the charges later. At a September hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Spence argued the public interest favored preserving the grand jury’s ability to act on any future evidence. When pressed by the judge, Spence could not identify even a hypothetical new fact that would justify reviving the indictment.
In his ruling, Edelman wrote that the government has no right to retain the ability to compound the errors it has already made, or even to threaten to do so, at Mr. Hearn’s expense.
Hearn’s legal team — Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann, Steve Levin, and Michael Bromwich — released a joint statement calling the ruling “a victory for the rule of law and for an innocent American seeking justice,” and said the prosecution should never have been brought. The White House and the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
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