U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro will no longer be able to bring charges against former Olympian David Hearn after a D.C. Superior Court judge dismissed the Reflecting Pool vandalism case with prejudice.
Judge Todd Edelman filed an order on Thursday to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning the case is permanently closed and federal prosecutors cannot bring the same charges against Hearn.
Pirro had filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Hearn at the end of July after it was revealed that the damage to the landmark was the “result of flawed installation by the contractor.” Hearn had pleaded not guilty to one count of property destruction, a charge that carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
In his order, Edelman said the order to dismiss Hearn’s case was markedly different than other dismissals because the prosecution realized the case against the former Olympian “lacked merit.”
“It reached this conclusion not because it had misidentified Mr. Hearn as the perpetrator of the alleged act, but because no crime had occurred: the observed damage to the Reflecting Pool was due to the contractor’s ‘rushed and botched’ installation of the lining while conducting renovations, and Mr. Hearn’s actions had no effect on the value of the pool,” Edelman said.
Edelman also said that “because the government’s legitimate interest in maintaining the possibility of a future prosecution seems so marginal, and because of the extraordinary possibility that Mr. Hearn will nonetheless face a meritless, politically motivated prosecution,” the case requires a dismissal with prejudice.
In a statement following the order, Hearn’s attorneys called the decision a “victory for the rule of law,” noting the case should have never begun in the first place.
“This was a miscarriage of justice, and what happened to Mr. Hearn is an outrage that should shock every American,” attorneys Norm Eisen, Mary Dohrmann, and Steve Levin said in a joint statement. “This administration chose to pursue an unjust prosecution against Mr. Hearn. It should not get repeated chances to wield power of criminal prosecution against someone who should never have been prosecuted.”
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The Reflecting Pool had been plagued with several problems, including rapid algae growth on top of the peeling lining, following a quick renovation period. After the nation’s July 4 celebration, workers began draining and repairing the pool to address the underlying problems. Pirro had acknowledged in her motion to dismiss that, at the time of Hearn’s arrest, the lining had already begun to peel.
Pirro had blamed the Interior Department for providing her office with “less than fulsome information at the outset of this case.” She also conceded that the U.S. government “would not have sought a grand jury indictment” if the Interior Department provided the necessary information.