Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, left, and his lawyer Norm Eisen, right, leave the Washington courthouse with smiles in early September after a hearing on the dismissal of his vandalism charges.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
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Mark Schiefelbein/AP
A judge has dismissed with prejudice the government’s vandalism charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn. That means federal prosecutors won’t be able to refile them in the future, despite President Trump’s public requests to do so.
In fact, as Washington Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman explained in a 26-page ruling released Thursday, the case should be permanently closed, in large part because of “political pressure exerted by the President of the United States on his subordinate officers.”
“Although prosecutors concede that the evidence indicates that he committed no crime, the President’s statements create a risk that Mr. Hearn will nevertheless be prosecuted, either because the current United States Attorney and his aides will eventually give in to his public pressure campaign or because the President will replace them with prosecutors more likely to carry out his wishes,” Edelman, an Obama appointee, wrote.
Hearn, 67, was arrested at the Reflecting Pool in June, around the time his new multimillion-dollar blue lining began noticeably peeling off in pieces. He was indicted on one count of destruction of property and quickly indicted by a grand jury, although he pleaded not guilty.
However, in late July, as the trial start date — and the prospect of up to 10 years in prison if convicted — approached, Pirro’s office abruptly asked the judge to drop the charges against Hearn and three others.
Citing new reports from the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service, federal prosecutors admitted that the damage to the Reflecting Pool was, in fact, “the result of botched installation and not vandalism.”
Trump disagreed and publicly urged Pirro to reexamine the case — something Thursday’s ruling prevents.
When asked for comment, the White House referred NPR to three of Trump’s Truth Social posts from August, blaming the damage to the Reflecting Pool on vandals and disagreeing with D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s decision to drop charges against Hearn in the first place.
Hearn’s supporters gather outside the District of Columbia courthouse during a hearing in early September.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
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Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Neither the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington nor the Justice Department responded to NPR’s requests for comment in time for publication.
Hearn’s lawyers – Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann, Steve Levin and Michael Bromwich – celebrated the decision in a joint statement, calling it “a victory for the rule of law and for an innocent American seeking justice.”
“This case should never have been brought in the first place,” they said. “This is a miscarriage of justice and what happened to Mr. Hearn is a scandal that should shock every American.”
The soft-spoken Marylander quickly became a cause celebre for the many Americans captivated by the Reflecting Pool saga, which some saw as a referendum on the Trump administration itself.
In an August interview with NPR, Hearn described his experience as “Kafkaesque” and “Orwellian” but said he was buoyed by the support he received from within and outside his community.
“With the power of the law, the power of the courts and my wonderful team, I feel very well equipped … to bring democracy back to me,” he said.
Trump’s public pressure campaign
Trump criticized Pirro in the days and weeks after the charges were dropped, saying she “choked” and “bent like an umbrella” — and did not rule out firing her. He continued to blame vandalism for the damage and wrote on social media that anyone who disagreed “should go back to law school.”
“What is most disturbing,” Edelman wrote, is that during this period the president also launched increasingly personal attacks against Hearn and his legal team.
“U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro should reverse her hastily made decision, especially since it turns out that the ‘gentleman’ involved is a major player in ActBlue, a shameful fundraising scam, and is represented by a deranged TRUMP SLEAZEBAG, hack political lawyer, Norm Eisen,” Trump wrote in early August, in one of the social media posts the White House reached out to NPR on Thursday.
It was against this backdrop that Hearn’s legal team pressured the judge to dismiss the charges with prejudice, to avoid the same case being re-litigated. The Trump administration, by contrast, has sought to leave that door open.
Edelman’s ruling Thursday provides insight into the government’s argument — then dismantles it.
The empty and fenced reflecting pool, seen in late September.
Rod Lamkey/AP
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Rod Lamkey/AP
Edelman wrote that when asked in court what kind of hypothetical new evidence might prompt prosecutors to reexamine the case, an anonymous assistant U.S. attorney “went philosophical, reflecting, ‘I don’t know what the future may bring. None of us know.'”
He claims prosecutors could not provide specific examples of such evidence and “admitted that the government is no longer even investigating this case.”
“Given his own description of the existing evidence and the circumstances of this case, the development of contrary evidence seems virtually inconceivable, and the possibility of a future meritorious prosecution appears fanciful to the Court,” Edelman concluded.
Hearn’s lawyers say Thursday’s ruling allows him to “get on with his life as he deserves.”
The reflecting pool, which was drained after July 4, remains empty and fenced off for repairs, with no public timetable for its completion.
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