The decision to end the case against former Olympian David Hearn is already making a big splash — and this is likely just the beginning, not the end, of the matter.
Yes. Pirro's decision to drop the case will have ripple effects. The ripples will be in the waves that wash her ashore from the U.S. Attorney's position.
Agreed, but not just a mistake by the DOJ. She both openly debunked Trump's rant that the reflecting pool was sabotaged and trashed the contractor that Trump threw the job to without open bidding because they were a big contributor to Trump's campaign. That's a double-wammy against Trump. We should hold a lottery to see who comes closest to guessing how long she'll still be with the U.S. Attorney.
Remember the bet in Great Britain: “Which will last longer, Liz Truss or a head of lettuce?” (I think the lettuce won.) We could have the same bet with Pirro. My money would be on the lettuce.
How did Pirro imagine this was going to end? She clearly knew that her presser statements were lies. Did she think that she wouldn't get caught; or did she anticipate taking this most of the way, then likely abandoning or downgrading to something insignificant after having publicly terrorized someone? Even in a wine-stoked-fantasy she should have known this would not go well.
She likely thinks that no matter what -- and apparently lying to grand jurors or the court filing the indictment doesn't bother her at all -- she'll get a pardon from her big daddy.
I hope that Mr. Hearn will sue for malicious prosecution. There needs to be as much publicity given to the retraction as there was to the initial charge.
And hopefully this opens the DOJ up to a HUGE lawsuit filed by David Hearn himself. Because "Ready, fire, aim" is not the way to run a prosecution. Pirro should be disbarred for this travesty of justice.
What about the damage done by Trump‘s vehicle entourage when they drove smack down the center of the pool so he could “inspect“ the coating installed by his pool maintenance buddy?
Nothing like indicted an American citizen touring the Reflecting Pool with felony vandalism, when you admit later you did NOT FULLY investigate the situation prior to prosecuting the individual. Still seems like grounds for disbarment for Pirro And her Assistant Attorney.
Chris - the “rushed and botched” job applies to the prosecution as well as the contractor work.
I understand that the grand jury is a one-sided approach for indictment, as there is no defense presented. I assume there is some responsibility on the prosecutor to fully investigate the charges contemplated and have sufficient evidence to prove a likelihood of conviction.
In this case, it seems the prosecution did very little (if any) investigation of the facts. I thought the purpose of the grand jury was to ensure that prosecution had a solid case before bringing an indictment - what does this say about the grand jury or the grand jury process?
You might be expecting too much of the grand jury. The grand jury only has to find that there is "probable cause," to wit, reasonable grounds exist to warrant a reasonable man to conclude that a crime has been committed and that the accused may be responsible. The prosecutor shouldn't take a case to the grand jury unless he reasonably believes that he can prove the charge(s) beyond a reasonable doubt. The last 18 months have shown us that some prosecutors choose to ignore that principle.
Prosecutors typically leave investigative work to the police; that prevents the problem of the prosecutor becoming a witness in the case. On the other hand, sometimes the reports, photos, diagrams, etc. don't tell you everything, and you just have to go to the scene and look for yourself. I haven't yet read the government's motion to dismiss, but I suspect that there was pressure to get the case indicted fast. Only when the prosecutors started to put the case together for trial did they realize that they had seriously blundered.
Trump knew it had to be vandals, after all he inspected the absolutely perfect installation himself by driving on it with several of his multi-ton vehicles a few days before refilling. What else could it have been?
The unctuous Dept of Interior head Doug Burgum did what was expected and of course praised the installation decisions made by Trump and confirmed it had to be citizens slashing the lining......
In a nutshell this is how our government is currently dysfunctioning ....an addled delusional narcissist in charge, with fawning incompetent cabinet members; corrupted faux true believer congressmen (Citizen's United funded) and a Supreme Court majority of flawed originalists who see no evil.
In a functioning government Trump would be removed. But each time this happens he somehow survives.....I don't know whether American democracy will.
The subtext of the motion to dismiss - which should have been offered up with prejudice, not the weaselly approach the G took here - is that Pirro doesn't want to be sanctioned, referred for discipline, or exposed to personal liability, though the last is a high hill for a plaintiff to climb. Nevertheless, I expect she'll face a pair of questions from someone, somewhere, along these lines: "Did you know the indictment was baseless when you filed it? If you didn't, how can you claim to have conducted yourself with due diligence as a prosecutor?"
In filing the request for dismissal while shifting blame to the Department of Interior, Pirro compounded her troubles. For one, she lied in this paragraph on page 6:
"Armed only with DOI's representations that defendant caused more than $1000 of damage to the Reflecting Pool, USAO-DC presented evidence to a District of Columbia Superior Court grand jury, which on July 2, 2026, returned an indictment ... ."
But we know from the defense attorneys' motion last Monday -- in which they sought wider disclosure of the grand jury proceedings -- that no one from the DOI or the NPS ever placed a value on Hearn's alleged damage. Pirro knows this too. She stupidly signed this dismissal request that included her bald-faced lie.
It's also worth noting that all this is happening in the DC circuit, where judges learned to love Trump and his accomplices during the first administration, and during the January 6 criminal trials (prior to mass pardons plus clemency). I'm not saying a federal judge would hold a grudge, but they sure aren't going to cut Trump et al any slack now.
Yes. Pirro's decision to drop the case will have ripple effects. The ripples will be in the waves that wash her ashore from the U.S. Attorney's position.
The amazing thing is that anyone in the (In)justice Department admitted to a “mistake”.
Agreed, but not just a mistake by the DOJ. She both openly debunked Trump's rant that the reflecting pool was sabotaged and trashed the contractor that Trump threw the job to without open bidding because they were a big contributor to Trump's campaign. That's a double-wammy against Trump. We should hold a lottery to see who comes closest to guessing how long she'll still be with the U.S. Attorney.
Remember the bet in Great Britain: “Which will last longer, Liz Truss or a head of lettuce?” (I think the lettuce won.) We could have the same bet with Pirro. My money would be on the lettuce.
Agreed. Pirro shouldn't be buying any green bananas.
Hopefully, Hegseth’s Coast Guard won’t have any planes in sight.
How did Pirro imagine this was going to end? She clearly knew that her presser statements were lies. Did she think that she wouldn't get caught; or did she anticipate taking this most of the way, then likely abandoning or downgrading to something insignificant after having publicly terrorized someone? Even in a wine-stoked-fantasy she should have known this would not go well.
She likely thinks that no matter what -- and apparently lying to grand jurors or the court filing the indictment doesn't bother her at all -- she'll get a pardon from her big daddy.
That won't help her with her license to practice law.
The good news, for her, is that she can retire back to NY. The bad news is that she is probably too toxic for Fox News.
I hope that Mr. Hearn will sue for malicious prosecution. There needs to be as much publicity given to the retraction as there was to the initial charge.
And hopefully this opens the DOJ up to a HUGE lawsuit filed by David Hearn himself. Because "Ready, fire, aim" is not the way to run a prosecution. Pirro should be disbarred for this travesty of justice.
What about the damage done by Trump‘s vehicle entourage when they drove smack down the center of the pool so he could “inspect“ the coating installed by his pool maintenance buddy?
Yes, they strenuously avoid mentioning that. God forbid you name the boss as being one of the vandals. You’d be fired out of a cannon.
Nothing like indicted an American citizen touring the Reflecting Pool with felony vandalism, when you admit later you did NOT FULLY investigate the situation prior to prosecuting the individual. Still seems like grounds for disbarment for Pirro And her Assistant Attorney.
Chris - the “rushed and botched” job applies to the prosecution as well as the contractor work.
I understand that the grand jury is a one-sided approach for indictment, as there is no defense presented. I assume there is some responsibility on the prosecutor to fully investigate the charges contemplated and have sufficient evidence to prove a likelihood of conviction.
In this case, it seems the prosecution did very little (if any) investigation of the facts. I thought the purpose of the grand jury was to ensure that prosecution had a solid case before bringing an indictment - what does this say about the grand jury or the grand jury process?
Nothing good, I assure you.
You might be expecting too much of the grand jury. The grand jury only has to find that there is "probable cause," to wit, reasonable grounds exist to warrant a reasonable man to conclude that a crime has been committed and that the accused may be responsible. The prosecutor shouldn't take a case to the grand jury unless he reasonably believes that he can prove the charge(s) beyond a reasonable doubt. The last 18 months have shown us that some prosecutors choose to ignore that principle.
Prosecutors typically leave investigative work to the police; that prevents the problem of the prosecutor becoming a witness in the case. On the other hand, sometimes the reports, photos, diagrams, etc. don't tell you everything, and you just have to go to the scene and look for yourself. I haven't yet read the government's motion to dismiss, but I suspect that there was pressure to get the case indicted fast. Only when the prosecutors started to put the case together for trial did they realize that they had seriously blundered.
"Hasty and Botched" is also a good description of the prosecution
Who needs research when one has an infallible gut like Pirro … and Trump?
Trump knew it had to be vandals, after all he inspected the absolutely perfect installation himself by driving on it with several of his multi-ton vehicles a few days before refilling. What else could it have been?
The unctuous Dept of Interior head Doug Burgum did what was expected and of course praised the installation decisions made by Trump and confirmed it had to be citizens slashing the lining......
In a nutshell this is how our government is currently dysfunctioning ....an addled delusional narcissist in charge, with fawning incompetent cabinet members; corrupted faux true believer congressmen (Citizen's United funded) and a Supreme Court majority of flawed originalists who see no evil.
In a functioning government Trump would be removed. But each time this happens he somehow survives.....I don't know whether American democracy will.
The subtext of the motion to dismiss - which should have been offered up with prejudice, not the weaselly approach the G took here - is that Pirro doesn't want to be sanctioned, referred for discipline, or exposed to personal liability, though the last is a high hill for a plaintiff to climb. Nevertheless, I expect she'll face a pair of questions from someone, somewhere, along these lines: "Did you know the indictment was baseless when you filed it? If you didn't, how can you claim to have conducted yourself with due diligence as a prosecutor?"
Chris,
Reflecting pool ripples get deeper and wider as doj throws doi a sinking life preserver ring into the water.
Breathing in I see myself as still water.
Breathing out i reflect all that is. Frm Meditation as nourishment by Thich Nhat Hanh.
We are in this together. No Kings. Peace.
Christopher and family in Upstate SC
Excellent reporting on this rediculous matter.
In filing the request for dismissal while shifting blame to the Department of Interior, Pirro compounded her troubles. For one, she lied in this paragraph on page 6:
"Armed only with DOI's representations that defendant caused more than $1000 of damage to the Reflecting Pool, USAO-DC presented evidence to a District of Columbia Superior Court grand jury, which on July 2, 2026, returned an indictment ... ."
But we know from the defense attorneys' motion last Monday -- in which they sought wider disclosure of the grand jury proceedings -- that no one from the DOI or the NPS ever placed a value on Hearn's alleged damage. Pirro knows this too. She stupidly signed this dismissal request that included her bald-faced lie.
Hoo Boy. It just keeps getting worse for her. Pardon me while I rosin up my tiny violin.
Circular firing squad
It's also worth noting that all this is happening in the DC circuit, where judges learned to love Trump and his accomplices during the first administration, and during the January 6 criminal trials (prior to mass pardons plus clemency). I'm not saying a federal judge would hold a grudge, but they sure aren't going to cut Trump et al any slack now.