Former Olympian David Hearn is weighing legal action against President Donald Trump after the president accused him — without evidence — of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The potential lawsuit comes as Trump faces ongoing criticism over damage sustained at the landmark. The case highlights the unusual situation of a sitting president publicly accusing a private citizen of a crime after federal prosecutors appointed by that same president already dropped the charges.

Hearn's legal team — Democracy Defenders Fund's Norm Eisen, Washington Litigation Group's Mary Dohrmann, and Steptoe LLP's Steve Levin — told Mediaite, "The government is continuing to attack an innocent man. Our first filing in the case on July 10 included photographic evidence from before Mr. Hearn touched the Reflecting Pool proving that he caused no damage. Our other filings provided even more proof. Finally, the U.S. Attorney's own motion on July 31 admitted the damage was caused by a 'botched installation and not vandalism.' We are reviewing all legal remedies, including for this continued harassment. It is outrageous."

Federal prosecutor and Trump appointee Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host, dropped the case against Hearn on July 31, acknowledging that allegations she received from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum did not hold up to scrutiny. According to Pirro, "the damage" the Reflecting Pool suffered "was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI."

Trump addressed the matter in a Truth Social post on Sunday, August 9, claiming: "ALERT: A National Park Service career employee, a highly credible witness, saw David Hearn (ActBlue) in broad daylight vandalize the Reflecting Pool by 'violently' ripping and tugging at the Pool's somewhat delicate coating." Trump's post came nine days after the case was dismissed and referenced Hearn's association with ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform, underscoring the political dimensions of the dispute.

Trump continued: "The National Park Service employee provided this witness testimony to the U.S. Attorney's Office in early July, as seen below. Numerous other events took place, including using an acid like material on the just installed grass adjoining the Pool. On it were written the letters, '86 47,' a phrase probably gotten from James Comey. There was substantial other damage to the Reflecting Pool, also but, unfortunately, there is no video or proof, other than the damage, itself. We are working on the Pool, and it will reopen shortly. As with many jobs, there was also some contractor error done by rushing the job for a July 4th opening, but it was a very small area of this massive Pool, and was relatively inconsequential. Security cameras have been, and are being, installed. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP." Notably, Trump's own post acknowledged "contractor error" from rushing the project for a July 4th opening, while simultaneously maintaining that vandalism occurred — an internal tension that Hearn's legal team has cited as evidence the accusations are baseless.

Journalist Paul Farhi pushed back against Trump's claims on X, posting: "So it was all a coverup? By the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney? The Trump-appointed U.S. attorney who loyally stood by the president every night on her national television show, including going to bat for his election lies? Which cost her employer $787.5 million? Heckuva coverup." Farhi's reference to the $787.5 million settlement recalls the 2023 Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against Fox News, which Pirro was named in, and which the network settled for that record sum.