A Washington judge said Friday he will rule quickly on whether to dismiss with prejudice the indictment against former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn, a case that has drawn sharp public comment from President Donald Trump.
At a hearing in D.C. Superior Court, prosecutors acknowledged they have no current grounds to sustain a criminal case against Hearn, who was charged with destruction of property for allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June. But they urged Judge Todd Edelman to dismiss the indictment without prejudice, preserving the ability to ask a grand jury to re-charge Hearn if new evidence emerges.
“I do think there is a public interest in allowing a grand jury at a future date” to issue an indictment if new information comes to light, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Spence told Edelman, according to reporting by MS NOW.
Hearn’s lawyer, Steve Levin, pushed back, arguing that a dismissal with prejudice is needed to protect his client from the threat of future prosecution on baseless charges.
“There is nothing that can save the case that was dismissed,” Levin said. “There is no valid reason to keep it alive, to hold it over Mr. Hearn’s head for the next five years.”
After nearly an hour of arguments, Edelman said he would take the matter under advisement. “Won’t take long to issue a ruling,” the judge added.
Hearn, 67, a three-time Olympian, was indicted in early July on one count of destruction of property. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro at the time accused him of intentionally and “violently” damaging a two-square-foot piece of liner from the Reflecting Pool on June 19. If convicted, Hearn faced up to 10 years in prison.
After his arrest on an initial misdemeanor charge in June, Hearn told The Washington Post he had stopped at the pool after a long bicycle ride and reached into the water to feel a partially detached piece of blue liner. “I didn’t vandalize anything,” he said. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
In late July, Pirro asked Edelman to dismiss the indictment without prejudice, saying her office had learned from the Department of the Interior that the damage to the pool’s sealant was the result of a “flawed installation,” not Hearn pulling it up.
Trump reacted angrily at the time, writing on Truth Social: “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool.” He added, “I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM.”
At Friday’s hearing, Levin argued that the government’s own admission underscores that the case never should have been brought. “I think it’s clear why they moved to dismiss the case, because they had no case,” Levin said. He accused Pirro’s office of acting in bad faith, adding, “The court has the obligation to ensure that the government doesn’t abuse its prosecutorial discretion.”
Spence maintained that prosecutors acted in good faith and reiterated the public interest in leaving open the possibility of a future grand jury action if new evidence surfaces.
During questioning, Edelman pressed Spence on a key point: whether Hearn’s alleged conduct had any economic impact on the pool liner. Spence confirmed it did not, meaning the acts did not constitute destruction of property under the law. Edelman then asked whether there could ever be an economic loss that might justify renewed prosecution.
“I don’t know what the future will bring. None of us do,” Spence replied, adding that if more evidence were found, prosecutors want to be able to bring charges again. “There’s no reason this court should tie the hands of a future grand jury.”
Edelman also raised Trump’s public comments, asking Spence how the judge could view the president’s statements as anything other than an instruction to “pursue a prosecution that you told me is meritless?” Spence responded: “I think the president’s statements speak for themselves. At the end of the day, the president can remove the U.S. Attorney … he can remove me if he so chooses.”
After the hearing, Hearn thanked his supporters and lawyers, saying, “I just want to thank everyone who’s out here supporting me and everyone across the country… This is about defending democracy.”
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/04/reflecting-pool-hearn-doj-trump-pirro.html
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