Trump's Reflecting Pool makeover and the fight over its damage

Trump said that federal authorities had made multiple arrests, eventually six, but the photo and video evidence of vandalism he promised had not appeared by late June.^[8] A senior National Park Service official said the liner had been cut with a sharp knife or razor that month.^[9] Crews began draining the pool again in early July, the second time in three months, and the no-bid contractor that had renovated it took on the new repairs.^[10] A grand jury indicted Hearn, a three-time Olympian, on one felony count of destruction of property,^[2] accusing him of ripping out a piece of the sealant on June 19, and he pleaded not guilty.^[11] His lawyers said in a court filing that the only grand jury witness had testified that the area was already damaged and would have needed repairs regardless.^[12]

At the end of July, Pirro's office moved to drop the felony charge, saying rushed contractor work rather than vandalism had caused the damage. Trump said Pirro had "choked," then met with her and kept her in the job.^[3] Prosecutors also dropped the charges against three other people accused of damaging the pool.^[13] Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stuck to the account that vandals were responsible,^[14] and the White House asked the Justice Department to weigh new charges against Hearn.^[15]

In September, the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, told the administration that errors in its own work and flaws in the repair plan caused the liner to peel and break loose, according to government documents described in news reports.^[16] On October 1, Judge Todd Edelman of D.C. Superior Court permanently dismissed the case against Hearn.^[4] Later in October, Hearn's lawyers said the Justice Department's inspector general had declined to investigate how the case was handled and had referred it to the department's Office of Professional Responsibility.^[17]