Republican Strategist Faults Jeanine Pirro for Deflecting Blame Over Reflecting Pool Case: 'Learned That From the Top'
Key Takeaways
- •President Trump publicly stated he completely disagreed with Pirro's decision to drop charges, maintaining that vandalism rather than poor construction was responsible for damage to the reflecting pool's lining.
- •Pirro acknowledged in a court filing that newly discovered information made it difficult to attribute the reflecting pool damage to vandalism and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
- •Former GOP aide Maura Gillespie criticized Pirro for attempting to shift responsibility to the Department of Interior, which oversees the National Park Service responsible for the reflecting pool.
- •Pirro's reversal drew particular scrutiny because she had aggressively defended the prosecution in prior weeks, including threatening a journalist and claiming to possess tremendous evidence.
- •Pirro was appointed to the high-profile D.C. U.S. Attorney position as a longtime Trump ally despite never having served as a federal prosecutor.
Republicans took aim at Jeanine Pirro on Saturday, with both President Donald Trump and a former GOP Hill staffer joining the chorus of criticism directed at the former Fox News commentator.
Trump led the charge on Truth Social, declaring he "100%" disagreed with Pirro. He was soon followed by Maura Gillespie, a onetime aide to former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who appeared on MS NOW Saturday morning.
"I don't see her feeling as though she has to face any real repercussions," Gillespie said. "If she can offload the blame to somebody else, she will."
Though Trump and Gillespie criticized Pirro for different reasons, both focused on the same issue: her decision on Friday to drop charges against David Hearn, a 67-year-old Olympian canoeist who had been accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. As U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Pirro acknowledged in a court filing that there was insufficient evidence to support the charges.
"Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt," Pirro stated in the filing.
Trump was angered by Pirro's rejection of his assertion that vandalism — rather than poor construction — was responsible for problems with the reflecting pool's lining. Gillespie, meanwhile, criticized Pirro for attempting to shift responsibility away from herself. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool falls under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, an agency within the Department of the Interior — the same department Pirro cited in her filing.
"Pirro largely blamed the Department of Interior for the confusion on her part," Gillespie said. "[Pirro] learned that from the top."
MS NOW host Alex Witt noted the stark contrast between Pirro's abrupt reversal and her earlier aggressive posture. In recent weeks, Pirro had threatened a journalist and touted "tremendous evidence" while defending the prosecution. The about-face drew particular scrutiny given that Pirro, a longtime Trump ally, was appointed to the high-profile D.C. post after a television career that had never included serving as a federal prosecutor.
"She really came hard at this," Witt observed. "That is her style, no doubt."
Gillespie concurred and then pivoted to broader criticism of the Trump administration, arguing that officials had mismanaged the reflecting pool renovation from the outset.
"What's important to highlight is the misuse of funds," she said. "American dollars...are being spent frivolously because they're not being thoughtfully planned and orchestrated and decided upon."
"If I were a Republican running for office right now, I would point to getting a better handle on our economy, getting a better handle on how our dollars are spent, which was the initial goal of the Trump administration."