Dismissal of suspected D.C. vandalism charges was deemed a “multiple vehicle pile-up” by a GOP senator as he opined on the potential thinking of the president and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
(Video Credit: NBC News)
Friday in Superior Court of the District of Columbia Criminal Division, Pirro filed a motion to dismiss the indictment brought against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn as one of the alleged vandals responsible for damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
After the move prompted President Donald Trump to publicly question the attorney, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy addressed how the chief executive “exists loudly” while suggesting Pirro’s dismissal may have been prompted by her own concerns about possibly spending “overnight with Bubba in central lockup.”
Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker presented the dismissal as potentially marring the reputation of the DOJ rather than demonstrating a contrast to the weaponization witnessed under the previous administration as she asked, “This was a case that the DOJ had said was open and shut. They said they could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Does this reversal undercut the public’s faith in the Justice Department, senator?”
“Well, the whole thing is a multiple vehicle pile-up,” began Kennedy in response. “Let me start with the president. The president says it was caused by vandals. I don’t know whether he really believes that, or it’s part of his political messaging, or he’s just thinking out loud.”
“You and I both know the president well. He exists loudly, and he grows anxious when he has an unexpressed thought. I’m not saying he doesn’t really believe it. I just don’t know,” continued the senator.
Turning his attention to Pirro, the lawmaker shared an anecdote for perspective, “Now, the stakes are a lot higher for U.S. Attorney Pirro. You can’t lie to a federal judge. If she can’t prove her case, she was right to pull back. Because if you fool around with a federal judge, you will find out. When I was in private practice, one time I put my briefcase on a brand new conference table bought by a federal judge, and he got so mad — I’ll never forget — I thought I was going to get to spend overnight with Bubba in central lockup.”
“Federal judges will not tolerate. And so I don’t know why she filed the suit without … doing a full investigation. She says she relied on the Department of Interior (DOI),” he noted. “But she was smart to pull it back.”
As previously reported, Pirro’s motion to dismiss cited DOI documents post-indictment that indicated “flawed installation by the contractor … and the rush to complete the project” as cause for damage.
Despite the reasoning from the U.S. Attorney’s office, the president and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum took to social media with opposing views.
For his part, Trump said, “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro … on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass, which had a big 86 47 emblazoned in giant letters on it, and other elements of the surrounding area. There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
Likewise, Burgum maintained suspicion the damage was caused by repeated vandalism and contended expert and eyewitness testimony as well as video evidence were provided to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“[Trump] cares deeply about protecting our sacred national monuments and his leadership has led the restoration of our Nation’s Capital by Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful Again,” he wrote in part before going on to assert in a community note-earning post, “We won’t back down to deranged people who want to destroy, deface, or degrade our monuments.”
The evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool. Some of these acts were even caught on camera. We also provided the U.S. Attorney’s office expert and eyewitness testimony to the damage done by vandals and provided every piece of evidence they…
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) August 1, 2026
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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