Attorneys for former Olympian David Hearn are asking the inspectors general for the Department of Justice and the Interior Department to investigate what they view as an unjust prosecution.
Hearn faced a federal charge for allegedly vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool until U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, whose jurisdiction rests in Washington, D.C., filed a motion to dismiss the indictment without prejudice. The case was permanently quashed last week when a D.C. Superior Court judge dismissed the indictment with prejudice, meaning the same charge cannot be refiled.
Though the move was considered a lasting win for Hearn, his lawyers are seeking to hold the Trump administration accountable by going directly to the two government watchdogs that oversee the DOJ and the Interior Department.
“In light of these findings and the government’s own admissions, a critical purpose of the requested investigations is to collect the facts — through witness interviews and the collection and analysis of electronic media and documents — necessary to hold accountable the individuals and groups who failed Mr. Hearn, the criminal justice system, and the public,” Norman Eisen and Joshua Kolb of the Democracy Defenders Fund wrote in a letter on Tuesday.
The DOJ aggressively pursued the case before discovering that the evidence didn’t match the allegation that Hearn intentionally vandalized the Reflecting Pool over the summer. Instead, the paint peeling that was central to the case was later revealed to have been caused by a contractor’s botched renovation of the national landmark.
Pirro blamed the Interior Department for providing her office with “less than fulsome information at the outset of this case.” She also conceded that the federal government “would not have sought a grand jury indictment” if the department provided the necessary information.
The defendant’s counsel claimed the administration failed to read their client his constitutional Miranda rights and denied him a phone call when he was detained on June 19, arguing that such treatment is unacceptable.
“The DOJ [Office of the Inspector General] and the DOI OIG must conduct detailed and comprehensive investigations to determine what happened inside their agencies that led to the shocking and indefensible treatment of Mr. Hearn,” the attorneys said. “These events demand accountability and full and unconstrained investigations by your offices.”
Hearn previously pleaded not guilty to one count of property destruction, a charge that carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed alleged vandals for defacing landmarks and damaging grass on the National Mall.