The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool remained fenced off as of Thursday, August 6, even after vandalism-related charges were dropped against a former Olympian and three other people.
Photos from the scene, taken on Wednesday, depicted a chain-link fence surrounding the pool, which was initially erected in late July when the Trump administration re-drained the water for repairs.
Access to the Reflecting Pool has been limited, especially after President Donald Trump accused “vandals” of damaging the pool by slashing the newly installed liner and dumping chemicals into the water.
But that access has remained limited, even after U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro dropped charges against accused “vandals” and admitted, in a court filing, that the damage was the result of poor installation.
It’s unclear why the fencing remains around the pool or when the Trump administration plans to take it down.
The Independent has asked the Interior Department and the National Park Service for comment.
The months-long saga around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovations has been clouded by the Trump administration’s quick-turnaround work, vague information and the president’s unfounded allegations of vandalism.
From the start, the administration had bypassed public transparency by awarding a multi-million dollar no-bid contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a company with no federal contracting experience, to repair the Reflecting Pool.
Typically, the government will issue a request to multiple companies to bid for such work. But saying it needed to ensure the pool was repaired and repainted in time for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, the administration directed renovations quickly.
Yet just days after Atlantic Industrial Coatings installed a liner to stop new leaks and repainted it blue, stubborn algae, which had consistently bloomed on the shallow pool, re-emerged.
The president was quick to accuse visitors of vandalizing the pool and surrounding area in a politically motivated act.
Pirro charged former Olympic canoeist David Hearn with felony destruction of property for “violently” peeling a piece of the liner. Hearn denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
Three other individuals were charged with misdemeanors related to destroying the pool.
Yet in an extraordinary turn of events, Pirro motioned to dismiss the charges against Hearn and the three others, accusing the Interior Department of misleading her office into bringing the indictment by not providing the full scope of information about the renovations.
Pirro said the damage was the result of faulty installation – a claim Trump continues to dispute.
This week, a preservation group, suing the administration over its renovations, accused officials of trying to “destroy the very evidence” that shows the recent construction damaged the Reflecting Pool.
The group, Cultural Heritage Foundation, is asking a judge to allow them to “assess the current state” of the pool, claiming the administration could destroy evidence by closing off the pool to continue repair work.
