Refusing to back down, President Trump and his administration are doubling down on claims that the Lincoln Memorial was vandalized.
Videos by Suggest
The world leader slammed U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s assessment that the damage to the monument was the result of “shoddy construction” and not vandalism, as he has repeatedly claimed.
Pirro’s assessment was publicly revealed after a court filing moved to drop criminal charges against former Olympian David Hear. The athlete was previously accused of damaging the Reflecting Pool after it underwent a multi-million dollar renovation.
President Trump admitted that there “may have been some contractor difficulty” in the monument’s liner. However, he insisted “the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass, which had a big 86 47 emblazoned in giant letters on it, and other elements of the surrounding area. There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
Trump also released four minutes of security camera footage, showing three individuals apparently putting their hands in the Reflecting Pool. One of the people had their hand in the water for an extended period.
He further claimed the clip showed “materials is being cut with a knife or box cutter for all to see!”
US Interior Secretary Also Spoke Out Against the Assessment
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also pushed back against Pirro’s criticism.
“We also provided the U.S. Attorney’s office expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals,” Burgum wrote. “And provided every piece of evidence they asked for in the requested time line detailing each area of damage at the pool,” he wrote.
Following the news, Hearn’s legal team spoke out about the situation, criticizing both Trump and Pirro.
“Trump is mad at Pirro because she finally admitted what we made clear in our legal filings all along: Trump’s botched renovation was responsible for the damage — not Davey Hearn,” the statement reads. “However, her claim that she and her office were previously duped by Interior is nonsense. Starting immediately after the arraignment, our motions repeatedly proved that the administration was to blame for the Reflecting Pool failures, not Davey.”