U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday afternoon after Trump publicly criticized her decision to drop charges against individuals accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, according to ABC News.
Trump said he was "very disappointed" in Pirro after she dismissed a felony indictment against three-time Olympian canoeist David Hearn last Friday. Pirro filed a 20-page document explaining that the damage to the pool was caused by "flawed installation by the contractor" and not vandalism, contradicting a position she and the president had long held.
Trump rejected that conclusion. He said Pirro "made a mistake" and "choked" under pressure from the judge presiding over the case. "The judge was extremely unfriendly to Jeanine. And frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department and I guess she choked," Trump said at an Oval Office event earlier Monday. He also said she "folded like an umbrella."
Pirro's office did not stop with Hearn. She also dropped misdemeanor charges against three other individuals connected to alleged destruction of property at the pool. In withdrawing the cases, Pirro pointed to internal National Park Service communication from June 11 that raised concerns about the peeling pool liner more than a week before Hearn was arrested.
Hearn had been arrested at the Reflecting Pool in late June and charged with a felony for allegedly causing more than $1,000 in damage. He said he had only touched a piece of the liner that was already peeled from the bottom and pleaded not guilty.
Trump first rebuked Pirro's decision in a Saturday social media post. "I don't know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM," he wrote. On Monday, he continued to insist that someone had used a knife or boxcutter to deliberately cut and tear the pool lining.
Trump has privately discussed whether he should fire Pirro, according to sources familiar with the matter who told ABC News that nothing is final until Trump makes a decision himself. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the Monday meeting. When asked about Pirro's future, a White House official pointed reporters to Trump's earlier critical remarks in the Oval Office.
Trump deflected when asked directly on Monday whether he would consider removing Pirro from her position.
