Judge bars Trump administration from ever re-charging ex-Olympian David Hearn in Reflecting Pool case

A judge in Washington has permanently dismissed the Trump administration’s criminal case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, ruling the government could never again try to prosecute him over alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman ordered the dismissal “with prejudice” on Thursday, blocking US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office from refiling the felony charge. Edelman cited pressure from President Donald Trump, who publicly attacked Pirro for dropping the case, demanded she reinstate it, and entertained the idea of firing her.

“In securing the Indictment against Mr. Hearn, the government shot first and asked questions later,” Edelman wrote, adding: “Nothing about the grand jury process would prevent it from giving in to the President’s pressure and doing so again.”

“While the government wishes to hold open the possibility of the development of evidence that would support a future prosecution,” the judge wrote, “its own representations make plain that such a possibility is theoretical at best, and more likely, is simply fanciful.”

“Although the prosecutors assigned to this case have deemed it meritless, the President of the United States has repeatedly disparaged them and pressured them to change course,” Edelman added.

Pirro’s office had already asked for the case to be dismissed in a July 31 filing, saying the indictment rested on “less than fulsome information” from the Interior Department. New evidence suggested the pool’s damage was caused by flawed installation during rushed renovations ahead of Trump’s summer “America 250” celebration, USA Today reported.

Hearn’s lawyers said in a statement that the ruling was “a victory for the rule of law and for an innocent American seeking justice”.

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