Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, promised to investigate the government’s botched attempt to charge a former Olympian with damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool liner.
Sunday morning, Lieu accused U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro of trying to “destroy the life” of David Hearn by charging him with felony destruction of property “based on false evidence.”
“This is radical, unethical and unconscionable behavior,” Lieu wrote on X. “Democrats will investigate. November is coming.”
His assertion came two days after Pirro motioned to drop the charges against Hearn, admitting in a court filing that the damage to the pool liner was the result of poor installation.
Pirro’s reversal came as a surprise, given she, President Donald Trump and other members of the administration have been categorical that the damage was the result of “vandals” who were motivated by ideological differences.
Even Trump appeared shocked, writing on Truth Social, “I don’t know what she was thinking?” The president insisted vandals were responsible for the damage.
But Pirro’s filing claims that the Interior Department had misled her office into bringing the charges without the full scope of evidence. However, with new documentation on the table, Pirro said the materials “significantly undermine the evidentiary basis for the indictment.”
The change has led lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to raise their eyebrows at how such an indictment could have been brought without all the information necessary.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, called Pirro’s charges “bogus,” and wrote on X that “every failed prosecution [is] a self-indictment.”
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote on X Saturday that Hearn should be able to seek remedy for the “maliciously prosecuted” case.
Blumenthal pushed for legislation, co-sponsored by Senator Alex Padilla, that would hold prosecutors accountable.
Republican Senator John Kennedy told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday that “the whole thing is a multiple-vehicle pile-up.”
“I don't know why she filed a suit without doing a full investigation,” Kennedy said, adding that “if she can’t prove her case she was right to pull back. Because if you fool around with a federal judge, you will find out.”
Kennedy went on to cast doubt over Trump’s assertion that vandals damaged the Reflecting Pool.
“I don’t know whether he really believes that or it’s part of his political messaging or he’s just thinking out loud. He exists loudly, and he grows anxious when he has an unexpressed thought. I’m not saying he doesn’t really believe it, I just don’t know,” Kennedy said.
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan told CNN’s State of the Union Sunday that, while he wasn’t clear on the facts, he would be bothered if Pirro’s office was trying to send an innocent man to jail.
