DOJ IG Rejects Second Request to Probe Reflecting Pool Case

The Justice Department's inspector general has declined, for a second time, to investigate how the criminal case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn collapsed, according to a letter from Hearn's attorneys described by NBC News. The attorneys say Inspector General Don R. Berthiaume's office is refusing to examine whether DOJ personnel committed any crimes in bringing and then abandoning the case.

Hearn's lawyers sent a letter Wednesday asking Berthiaume's office to reconsider, citing what they called "numerous potential criminal violations — possible crimes committed solely by DOJ personnel, as well as crimes committed jointly by DOJ" employees and Interior Department personnel, according to NBC News. The inspector general's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.

What happened to David Hearn's case?

Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, was charged in July with felony damage to President Donald Trump's renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Trump had publicly blamed the damage on Hearn and other people he called "vandals," NBC News reported. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, led by Jeanine Pirro, moved to dismiss the case at the end of July. A judge later threw out the charges and barred the government from bringing them again, according to NBC News.

Why do Hearn's lawyers want an investigation?

Hearn's attorneys argue he should never have been charged. They say prosecutors had evidence in hand before filing charges showing that Hearn's putting his hands in the pool caused no "harm or monetary loss" — elements they describe as necessary to sustain the felony count, per NBC News. In an earlier request to the inspector general, the lawyers asked the office to examine "the incompetence and wrongdoing" of Justice Department employees, writing that the "sprint to charge Mr. Hearn mirrored the rushed renovation" of the Reflecting Pool itself, according to the letter cited by NBC News.

What does DOJ say actually caused the pool damage?

When Pirro's office moved to dismiss the case, prosecutors said the damage was "the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings," NBC News reported — not vandalism by Hearn or anyone else. That finding directly contradicted Trump's public claims blaming Hearn and other alleged "vandals" for the damage, the outlet reported. A photo accompanying the NBC News report shows a strip of detached paint rising above the surface of the Reflecting Pool's water.

What has the inspector general's office said about reviewing the case?

According to Hearn's legal team, the inspector general's office has now twice turned down requests to look into DOJ's handling of the matter, including the question of possible criminality among prosecutors and Interior Department staff. NBC News reported that the watchdog's office did not immediately respond when asked for comment on the refusal. The attorneys' Wednesday letter presses Berthiaume to reverse course given what they characterize as evidence of wrongdoing already in the government's possession.

Who is representing David Hearn?

Hearn's legal team includes attorney Norm Eisen, who is pictured alongside Hearn in NBC News's report on the case. The attorneys' latest letter frames the request as a demand for accountability inside the department that charged and then dropped the case against their client, rather than a renewed attempt to reopen the criminal matter itself, which a judge has already barred prosecutors from refiling.

What happens next

It remains unclear whether the inspector general's office will respond further to Hearn's attorneys or explain its reasoning for declining to investigate, since the office did not answer NBC News's request for comment. The underlying criminal case against Hearn is closed: a judge dismissed it and barred the government from bringing the same charges again, according to NBC News. Whether any internal DOJ review of the prosecution's conduct moves forward now depends on Berthiaume's office, which has not stated publicly why it has twice turned down the request. Read the full report at NBC News.

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