{"id":19538,"date":"2026-07-28T05:22:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T00:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=19538"},"modified":"2026-07-28T05:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T00:22:20","slug":"ex-olympian-charged-with-damaging-reflecting-pool-sees-irregularities-in-grand-jury-proceedings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=19538","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Olympian charged with damaging Reflecting Pool sees &#8216;irregularities&#8217; in grand jury proceedings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\" data-body-type=\"bodyblocks\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A former Olympian charged with deliberately damaging the <a data-ylk=\"slk:the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/reflecting-pool-drained-washington-monument-trump-repairs-0745ba52bc7273ce411ef29880f71cf0\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool<\/a> is seeking access to all of the closed-door testimony that led to his indictment, pointing to &#8220;irregularities&#8221; in those grand jury proceedings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In a court filing Monday, David Hearn&#8217;s attorneys requested an order for the government to turn over a complete transcript of all grand jury proceedings. They also want prosecutors to disclose the legal instructions they gave to grand jurors about the elements of Hearn&#8217;s alleged crime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hearn pleaded not guilty earlier this month to one felony count of property destruction and has a trial scheduled to start Sept. 28 in D.C. Superior Court. The charge, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years upon conviction, accuses Hearn of causing at least $1,000 in damage to the pool.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">But his lawyers question whether prosecutors properly presented the grand jury with adequate evidence to support the amount of damage alleged in Hearn&#8217;s indictment. A National Park Service official testified that the pool already was damaged before Hearn allegedly touched it, couldn&#8217;t quantify any damage attributable to Hearn and said the same repairs would have been required regardless of his conduct, defense attorneys said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;The witness&#8217;s testimony established that the pool had substantial preexisting damage requiring repair before any alleged conduct by Mr. Hearn,&#8221; his lawyers wrote. &#8220;According to the witness, the pool was leaking more than one million gallons of water per week; its expansion joints had exceeded their service life; and the liner already contained a rip.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hearn&#8217;s attorneys are basing those arguments on their limited review of grand jury testimony. They want court-ordered access to all the proceedings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro&#8217;s office in Washington didn&#8217;t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Hearn&#8217;s arguments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hearn previously asked the court to dismiss the case, which stems from the troubled multimillion-dollar renovation project championed by President Donald Trump. His attorneys argued the government has failed to properly preserve important physical evidence from the Reflecting Pool.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Trump, a Republican, has claimed that vandals have damaged the pool, but administration critics attribute the problems to shoddy repair work. During a speech Monday at General Motors in Michigan, Trump claimed a &#8220;sick&#8221; person cut the liner in the pool but said the attraction is receiving treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;It&#8217;s in the hospital now, but it&#8217;s going to get better very soon,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;It&#8217;s almost ready to open.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hearn and his supporters claim his prosecution is a politically motivated attempt by the Trump administration to deflect blame and scapegoat others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hearn <a data-ylk=\"slk:told The Associated Press;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-reflecting-pool-paint-algae-6b7b499ada2701a34bc6bc380013ad04\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">told The Associated Press<\/a> he was detained by <a data-ylk=\"slk:National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/reflecting-pool-trump-algae-coating-a41bbf59575f221d28e70452d0757f78\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police<\/a> for five hours after stopping by the pool during a bike ride on June 19. He said he reached in to examine the pool&#8217;s newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool, but said he obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, competed in three Summer Olympics, earning his best finish, ninth, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee says on its website.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the pool.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">___ Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 A former Olympian charged with deliberately damaging the the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is seeking access to all of the closed-door testimony that led to his indictment, pointing to &#8220;irregularities&#8221; in those grand jury proceedings. In a court filing Monday, David Hearn&#8217;s attorneys requested an order for the government to turn over&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/c087b87f2c6874c06cada49c967757b8ac4884dd34c3eeaed77dbf277ff1bd50\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w1200;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fap.org%2Fa736b9e3733fc63de33c1282b315d8d1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}