Lawyers for a former Olympian whom the Justice Department charged with intentionally damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, only to abruptly drop the case after determining he was not responsible, urged two government watchdogs on Tuesday to examine what they say was a flawed investigation and prosecution.
The attorneys for David Hearn said in a letter to the inspectors general for the departments of Justice and Interior that “incompetence and misconduct" were committed by government officials operating under pressure from President Donald Trump, and that watchdog investigations were needed “to determine what happened inside their agencies that led to the shocking and indefensible treatment” of their client.
The letter was filed days after a District of Columbia judge permanently dismissed the case, ending a brief prosecution derided by defense lawyers and other critics as an abuse of government power pushed by a president who insisted vandalism, not human error, was to blame for damage at the landmark. The request indicates that Hearn's lawyers see an additional need for accountability even after the dismissal of the legal proceedings.
