WASHINGTON(National Times)- Pre\u00adsident Donald Trump\u2019s extraordinary campaign to blame an apparently botched renovation of Washington\u2019s Reflecting Pool on vandals took another twist on Saturday when he attacked his handpicked prosecutor for dropping charges against an ex-Olympian arrested in the controversy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump lashed out at federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host who has been a longtime supporter of the Republican president, after she sought to dismiss the charges, acknowledging in court documents that poor installation, not vandalism, apparently wrecked the multimillion dollar renovation on the National Mall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI disagree 100pc with Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don\u2019t know what she was thinking?\u201d Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump then appeared to tacitly acknowledge what had long been suspected by politicians and the press: that a botched and hurried process had led a new \u201cAmerican Flag blue\u201d sealant to both peel from the pool\u2019s bottom and promote rapid algae growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also shared security camera footage he claimed showed vandalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the video individuals are seen from afar putting their hands into the water while workers undertook cleaning work, but it did not clearly show people da\u00adm\u00ad\u00adaging the pool or depositing anything into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump had made the renovation a national drama by repeatedly discussing plans and providing regular updates of the expedited work ahead of America\u2019s 250th anniversary celebrations earlier this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the pool liner began peeling off and algae grew quickly despite the application of chemicals, Trump blamed vandalism for the damage while providing no meaningful evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former Olympian David Hearn, 67, was arrested and charged with felony vandalism, which could have seen him jailed for a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, Pirro filed documents seeking dismissal of the case, saying new revelations \u201cundermine the evidentiary basis for the indictment\u201d. She said new documents indicate that damage to the landmark was \u201cthe result of flawed installation by the contractor and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON(National Times)- Pre\u00adsident Donald Trump\u2019s extraordinary campaign to blame an apparently botched renovation of Washington\u2019s Reflecting Pool on vandals took another twist on Saturday when he attacked his handpicked prosecutor for dropping charges against an ex-Olympian arrested in the controversy. Trump lashed out at federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host who has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n