Lawyers for ex-Olympian David Hearn seek watchdog inquiry into Reflecting Pool case
Version 2: New coverage adds detail on the lawyers' request: Newsweek reports the letter runs 21 pages and seeks “coordinated, independent” probes, names Judge Todd Edelman as having dismissed the case with prejudice the previous Thursday, gives Hearn's age as 67, and adds a statement from his lawyers; other outlets continue to report the same request to the two inspectors general with no response from the agencies or watchdog offices.
In short
Lawyers for former Olympic canoeist David Hearn asked the inspectors general of the Justice and Interior departments on Tuesday to investigate what they call a flawed investigation and prosecution over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Hearn was indicted on a felony destruction-of-government-property charge and held for five hours on June 19, but the case was dropped after the government concluded the damage came from a contractor's flawed installation. A judge dismissed the case, and the lawyers' letter calls for “coordinated, independent” probes.
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Lawyers for David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, asked the inspectors general of the Justice and Interior departments on Tuesday to investigate the circumstances of his arrest, indictment and the dismissal of the case against him, according to a letter seen by CBS News and described by the Associated Press and Newsweek. The request came days after a District of Columbia judge dismissed the case, the Associated Press reported, and Newsweek said the letter runs 21 pages and seeks “coordinated, independent” probes. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
Hearn had been accused of intentionally damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and was indicted on a charge of felony destruction of government property. U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro later moved to dismiss the case after saying new information showed the damage was caused by a contractor's “botched installation,” not vandalism, CBS News reported; Newsweek described the finding as flawed installation. Hearn was detained for five hours on June 19 after he stopped at the Reflecting Pool during a bike ride, and his lawyers said he was never read his Miranda rights or permitted to make a phone call, according to CBS News. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
The letter was addressed to Justice Department Inspector General Don Berthiaume and Interior Department Inspector General Caryl Brzymialkiewicz, the Associated Press and CBS News reported. The lawyers wrote that “incompetence and misconduct” were committed by government officials operating under pressure from President Donald Trump, and that investigations were needed “to determine what happened inside their agencies that led to the shocking and indefensible treatment” of their client. A stated purpose was to collect facts through witness interviews and the collection and analysis of electronic media and documents to hold accountable “the individuals and groups who failed Mr. Hearn, the criminal justice system, and the public,” the Associated Press reported. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
CBS News reported that the letter names Pirro, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and President Trump among the officials whose actions the lawyers cite, and says Hearn was deprived of his liberty, indicted for a crime he did not commit, threatened with up to 10 years of incarceration and defamed by high-ranking government officials. Newsweek quoted a statement from the lawyers saying the two departments “subjected an innocent man to a nightmare of wrongful arrest, felony indictment, and public defamation to cover up their own botched, rushed renovation of the Reflecting Pool.” [ 1 , 6 ]
The Associated Press reported that the prosecution was derided by defense lawyers and other critics as an abuse of government power pushed by a president who insisted vandalism, not human error, was to blame for damage at the landmark, and that the request indicates Hearn's lawyers see a need for accountability even after the dismissal. The New York Times reported that the lawyers accused prosecutors of ignoring their own evidence to indict Hearn and then providing “blatantly false” information about what they knew, and that a judge barred prosecutors from trying to revive the case. [ 3 , 5 ]
Spokespeople for the U.S. attorney's office, which brought the case, and the Interior Department did not immediately return emails seeking comment, and representatives of the two inspectors general offices did not immediately respond to messages asking whether they would act on the lawyers' request, the Associated Press reported. Newsweek reported that Judge Todd Edelman dismissed the case with prejudice the previous Thursday, about two months after federal prosecutors concluded the damage came from flawed installation, and that Hearn is 67. [ 3 , 6 ]
Why it matters
The request asks two federal watchdogs to examine how the Justice and Interior departments handled a case that ended without a conviction, keeping the matter open after the criminal proceedings closed. The lawyers' letter names senior officials, including the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, the interior secretary and President Trump, putting internal oversight of the agencies themselves at issue.
Key facts
- Lawyers for David Hearn asked the Justice and Interior departments' inspectors general on Tuesday to investigate his arrest, indictment and the dismissal of the case. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
- Hearn was accused of intentionally damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and was indicted on a charge of felony destruction of government property. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro moved to dismiss the case after saying new information showed a contractor's “botched installation” caused the damage, and Newsweek reported a judge dismissed the case with prejudice. [ 1 , 6 ]
- Hearn was detained for five hours on June 19, and his lawyers said he was never read his Miranda rights or allowed to make a phone call. [ 1 , 6 ]
- The lawyers' letter cites actions by Pirro, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and President Trump, and says Hearn was deprived of his liberty, indicted for a crime he did not commit, threatened with up to 10 years in prison and defamed. [ 1 , 6 ]
- Lawyers wrote that investigations are needed “to determine what happened inside their agencies that led to the shocking and indefensible treatment” of their client, and seek witness interviews and collection of electronic media and documents. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Spokespeople for the U.S. attorney's office and the Interior Department did not immediately return emails, and the two inspectors general offices did not immediately respond to messages asking whether they would act. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Lawyers for David Hearn sent a letter to the inspectors general of the Justice and Interior departments asking for investigations into his arrest, indictment and the dismissal of the case. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
- The case against Hearn was dismissed. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Hearn was accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and was indicted on a felony charge of destruction of government property. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]
- Hearn was detained for five hours on June 19. [ 1 , 6 ]
- The letter names Pirro, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and President Trump among the officials whose actions the lawyers cite. [ 1 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- Whether either inspector general office will open an investigation. The Associated Press reported that representatives of the two offices did not immediately respond to messages asking whether they would act on the request, so no decision appears in the documents.
- The claim that prosecutors ignored their own evidence to indict Hearn and then provided “blatantly false” information about what they knew. This appears only in The New York Times summary of the letter and is not detailed by the other documents.
- The specific conduct of the officials the lawyers name, including Pirro, Burgum and Trump. Those accusations come from the lawyers' letter as reported by CBS News and Newsweek; no document shows a response from the officials named.
- Details such as the letter's length, the name of the judge who dismissed the case and the exact date of dismissal. These specifics are reported only by Newsweek; other documents describe the dismissal without them.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- CBS News and the Associated Press report that lawyers for David Hearn asked the Justice and Interior inspectors general to investigate his arrest, indictment and the dismissal of the case. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The Seattle Times carries the Associated Press report and notes that the U.S. attorney's office and the Interior Department did not immediately comment, and that the inspector general offices did not immediately respond. [ 3 ]
- Reuters publishes a headline saying the Olympian cleared in the vandalism case seeks watchdog probes of Trump's Reflecting Pool project. [ 4 ]
- The New York Times reports the wrongly indicted man is seeking an inquiry into official conduct, and that a judge barred prosecutors from reviving the case. [ 5 ]
- Newsweek reports the lawyers' 21-page letter asks for “coordinated, independent” probes and that Judge Todd Edelman dismissed the case with prejudice the previous Thursday. [ 6 ]