Trump Escalates Reflecting Pool Vandalism Claims, Publicly Pressures U.S. Attorney Pirro
Key Takeaways
- •President Trump publicly pressured U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, his own appointee, to revisit a decision related to alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
- •The Reflecting Pool uses a replaceable liner system that Trump claims was deliberately cut with a knife across a span of at least 300 feet.
- •Trump credited freelance photographer Andrew Leyden for circulating images from the site that he says support the vandalism allegations.
- •The president linked the individual involved to ActBlue and criticized attorney Norm Eisen and his watchdog organization CREW for their involvement.
- •The confrontation marks a rare instance of a president directly and publicly pressuring a federal prosecutor on a specific case outcome.
President Donald Trump on Friday intensified his claims that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was vandalized, using posts on his Truth Social platform to double down on the accusations and direct fresh criticism at U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
The Reflecting Pool, a National Park Service site on the National Mall and one of Washington's most visited landmarks, has a replaceable liner system designed to hold water at the base of the Lincoln Memorial. The public confrontation between Trump and his own appointee marks a notable instance of a president directly pressuring a federal prosecutor on a specific case.
Trump, who appointed Pirro as the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, has publicly pressured her to revisit a decision related to the case. The dispute centers on allegations that the Reflecting Pool's liner was deliberately cut — claims that have circulated widely on social media.
"Now that people are able to see it up close, they are reporting pure VANDALISM at The Reflecting Pool," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He credited freelance photographer Andrew Leyden, who covers Washington, D.C., events and shares content on YouTube and other platforms, for circulating images from the site. Leyden also posted related content on X (https://x.com/PenguinSix/status/2085721975893213281).
"The material was cut right where the video tape showed, for 300 feet or more," Trump wrote. "People were on their knees with their hands in the water at the exact location of the 'slashes.' Additionally, there were witnesses to the VANDALISM, and the flexible areas of the material were cut with a knife."
Trump then turned his focus to Pirro and to Norm Eisen, a prominent Trump critic and co-founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a government watchdog organization that has frequently challenged Trump in legal proceedings. Eisen served as special counsel to House Democrats during Trump's first impeachment proceedings.
"U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro should re-visit her hastily made decision, especially since it turned out that the 'gentleman' involved is a big player in ActBlue, a disgraceful fundraising SCAM, and is represented by a TRUMP DERANGED SLEAZEBAG, Political Hack Lawyer, Norm Eisen, and CREW, a group that uses 'charity' for political purposes which is, to the best of my knowledge, ILLEGAL!" Trump wrote.
"I have been beating Eisen, a complete LUNATIC, in Court for 10 years, or more. He just keeps coming, but I always WIN!" Trump added.
ActBlue is a widely used online fundraising platform primarily serving Democratic and progressive political campaigns. CREW is a nonprofit watchdog group focused on government ethics and accountability. The U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Columbia handles both local federal crimes and cases of national significance, making it one of the most high-profile prosecutorial posts in the country.
