WSJ Reports White House Wants DOJ to Try Again
You may have seen the news by now that the Trump White House has asked the Justice Department to consider bringing a new prosecution against the same man that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. just moved to dismiss felony charges against over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool saga.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that DOJ officials are now exploring whether it could bring another case with potential misdemeanor charges against Olympic canoeist David Hearn, whom U.S. Attorney and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro targeted with felony vandalism charges before acknowledging in court, in detail, that damage to the pool was due to a botched renovation project and not vandalism. Trump remains incredibly angry with Pirro for her office’s motion to dismiss the case and has not been shy about making that sentiment clear — claiming she “choked” — publicly.
“U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro should re-visit her hastily made decision, especially since it turned out that the ‘gentleman’ involved is a big player in ActBlue, a disgraceful fundraising SCAM, and is represented by a TRUMP DERANGED SLEAZEBAG, Political Hack Lawyer, Norm Eisen, and CREW, a group that uses ‘charity’ for political purposes which is, to the best of my knowledge, ILLEGAL!” he posted on Truth Social.
DOJ discussions on the matter are “informal and preliminary” and newly-confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche has not been involved in the conversations, people familiar with the matter told WSJ. It is also unclear how these conversations about bringing another type of case against Hearn might factor in to the upcoming hearing on the matter, during which Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman — who dismissed the case last week — is set to decide whether the dismissal of charges against Hearn should be “with prejudice.” If so, the DOJ could not charge him again over the same alleged actions.
Hearn became the scapegoat for Trump’s ire over damage done to the Reflecting Pool, one of several architectural staples of Washington, D.C. that Trump targeted with his vanity renovation projects ahead of the dud of a 250th birthday party for America, which he hijacked for a corrupt celebration of himself.
There were several issues with the Reflecting Pool as Trump sought to have it spruced up for the anniversary. The upgrades included things like painting the bottom of the pool blue, only for the water to break out in a massive algae and for parts of the coating to peel off from the bottom of the pool. Hearn has maintained that he reached his hand in the water to touch part of the coating that had surfaced, but Trump claims that he has a “credible” witness who can attest Hearn ripped at the pool’s coating himself.
The DOJ, of course, admitted itself that that was not the case in court filings earlier this month.
Trump Admits the Renovation Was Rushed
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump admitted that there was some “rushing” involved in the renovation and “some contractor error.” But in the same post, he maintained that the “David Hearn (ActBlue)” was involved in some sort of “broad daylight” vandalism in an attempt to continue painting the entire episode as some sort of politically motivated attack on his vanity projects in lieu of accepting the reality that his own DOJ has admitted. Here’s the full post:
ALERT: A National Park Service career employee, a highly credible witness, saw David Hearn (ActBlue) in broad daylight vandalize the Reflecting Pool by “violently” ripping and tugging at the Pool’s somewhat delicate coating. The National Park Service employee provided this witness testimony to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in early July, as seen below. Numerous other events took place, including using an acid like material on the just installed grass adjoining the Pool. On it were written the letters, “86 47,” a phrase probably gotten from James Comey. There was substantial other damage to the Reflecting Pool, also but, unfortunately, there is no video or proof, other than the damage, itself. We are working on the Pool, and it will reopen shortly. As with many jobs, there was also some contractor error done by rushing the job for a July 4th opening, but it was a very small area of this massive Pool, and was relatively inconsequential. Security cameras have been, and are being, installed. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Raskin Investigates
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (R-MD) announced Tuesday that he was opening an investigation into the Trump Justice Department’s “bogus felony prosecution of three-time U.S. Olympian David Hearn, who faced a decade in prison on baseless charges that he damaged the Reflecting Pool lining.”
“Did DOJ prosecutors knowingly bring a bogus indictment? Did DOI withhold key evidence to blame the disastrous reflecting pool renovation on an innocent man? Did President Trump pressure or influence either Department to engage in wrongful actions against an American citizen?” Raskin wrote in a letter Tuesday to Pirro and Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum. “At a minimum, it appears that members of the Trump Administration were ready and willing to imprison an innocent American for a decade in a desperate effort to soothe an ex-landlord’s wounded ego about a terrible paint job and wasteful contract.”
Raskin asked that Pirro and Burgum provide the Judiciary Committee with documents related to the decision to prosecute Hearn, “including the decision to charge Mr. Hearn with a felony rather than a misdemeanor” as well as records of communication between the DOJ, DOI and the White House regarding the prosecution. He also asked for “all evidence presented to the Grand Jury in connection with the indictment” of Hearn by August 25.
The rest of the letter is also a troll poking at a fallout between Pirro and Burgum over the matter and asking that the two combine their resources to investigate “a Florida man living temporarily in Washington, D.C.”
There Is No Evidence to Suggest These Things Are Related But …
The Washington Post reported Wednesday morning that the DOJ has assembled a special grand jury in Washington, D.C. Per WaPo:
Unlike a typical grand jury, a special grand jury can release a potentially critical report about the subject of an investigation, even if prosecutors do not find enough evidence to bring the person to trial.
D.C.’s special grand jury is to be overseen by Steven Vandervelden, one of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s top allies in her office, according to three government officials familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that has not been made public.
Here’s What Else You Should Read From TPM Today
Mike Lindell is not conceding and has some questions about how polling over the last week stacks up against his primary loss on Tuesday night. Khaya Himmelman has the details: Following His Primary Loss, Lindell Has Questions About the Numbers
Democrats are raising their concerns with the Justice Department’s recent memo that purports to extend executive privilege to conversations President Trump has had with outside, private advisers. Dems say it’s a preemptive attempt to block them from future oversight, should they win back a chamber of Congress. Emine Yücel has more: Dems Sound the Alarm Over Trump DOJ’s Attempt to Block Oversight: ‘He Knows Accountability Is Coming’
In today’s edition of The Backchannel, Josh Marshall discusses how primary polling is very different than general election polling and why it matters: Wait?!?! How Were the Polls This Far Off?
Yesterday’s Top Story
Mike Lindell Has a Real Shot at Becoming Minnesota’s Republican Candidate for Governor
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Trump Admits to ‘Some Contractor Error’ As WH Asks DOJ to Consider New Charges:
How about charging contractor for ripping off the American taxpayer? Unfortunately, Trump is immune, but this could be part of his next impeachment.