# Reflecting Pool case against David Hearn dropped **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 1, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087 "2026-08-01T20:14:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/61 "2026-08-03T02:53:17Z")
The only vandalism of the Reflecting Pool was that done by the current administration. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/62 "2026-08-03T04:50:41Z")
What we know as the National Mall used to contain a river, a canal, and a marsh. Originally 17th and Constitution NW, where the old lock keeper’s house is, was the point where Tiber Creek flowed into the Potomac. The bank of the Potomac ran near the Washington Monument. They dug a tunnel under Tiber Creek to sink it and then built Constitution Avenue on top of it. The Potomac riverbed was dredged and the material was used to reclaim land that became West Potomac Park, which includes the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool. All of that used to be river and marsh. Braddock’s Rock near the Institute of Peace was originally in the river, but is 16 feet underground and over 1,000 feet inland now. They built a well around it to keep it from being buried. Looking at all the water that used to be in and around the Mall, I can’t help but think that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the Capitol Reflecting Pool, and the pond in Constitution Gardens were engineered to contain the water that would collect in these places anyway. That’s what the Tidal Basin is for also. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/63 "2026-08-03T08:15:35Z")
> [@billy-jack](#): > > The idea of the big Reflecting Pond with nothing but water in it does not appeal to me. If they put dirt in the bottom and lily pads and maybe a few fish, it would be extremely fascinating instead of dull and boring. Doesn’t sound like it would do much reflecting, though. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/64 "2026-08-03T15:27:29Z")
> [@billy-jack](#): > > As it is, it is nothing but a missed opportunity that could have been great. This administration in general and Freedumb 250 in particular in a nutshell. I was in my 20s for the Bicentennial and remember all the celebrating done then. I feel sorry how the kids and young adults of today got cheated and hope they’re around for the Tricentennial – assuming the country is worthy of its past. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/65 "2026-08-03T20:11:59Z")
The way trump is belligerently adamant about vandals reminds me of his campaign against the Central Park 5. At least he’s not calling for executions (yet). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/66 "2026-08-03T20:18:57Z")
CNN is [reporting](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/03/politics/jeanine-pirro-removal-reflecting-pool) that Trump is considering removing Jeanine Pirro as US attorney for the District of Columbia, basically for not agreeing with his claim that the reflecting pool damage is due to vandals. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/67 "2026-08-03T20:35:59Z")
Thanks, this has been helpful! The picture that emerges is that Pirro saw things collapsing quickly, and felt there were worse things in store for her than just losing her job. She took decisive action hoping it would save her from the most unpleasant consequences, though the action did risk her current job – maybe “threw it away” is a better description. Her claims of being deluded by Interior don’t jibe well with her absolute insistence that she had overwhelming proof of a crime meriting up to 10 years in federal prison, but this action may save her from losing her law license and other repercussions. It shouldn’t, but it might. Meanwhile, there’s not much info about the five people charged with misdemeanor vandalism. Their names haven’t been released, and it’s not clear if all the cases are still active just some of them. One is the person Trump accused of cutting the 250 foot slit in the Reflecting Pool liner, or however long he’s saying it is now. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/68 "2026-08-03T21:22:12Z")
A question for legal experts: Can this defendant or his attorneys subpoena the grand jury testimony? I’m sure it’s lies and bullshit and misleading direction piled on top of lies and bullshit, and it would be nice to shine a spotlight on it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/69 "2026-08-03T21:32:10Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Their names haven’t been released At least three of them have. Cameron Thiers, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Justin Carreno. ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/70 "2026-08-03T22:28:22Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > A question for legal experts: Can this defendant or his attorneys subpoena the grand jury testimony? Now that the case is dismissed, a hard path just became probably impossible. The answer is likely no, he cannot not get the grand jury testimony anymore, but I can’t articulate the reason why. Late: _I’m reading your “grand jury testimony” as the transcript of the entire grand jury proceedings. It would be fairly normal for a Defendant to get some witness testimony that are adverse, exculpatory, and what not to use at trial_. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/71 "2026-08-03T23:15:43Z")
It would be hilarious if David Hearn applied for compensation from the anti-weaponization fund that Trump may or may not be establishing. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/72 "2026-08-03T23:53:25Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > > [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > > > almost certainly not safety from getting shitcanned by DJT in the next couple of weeks. > > It will be interesting. Anyone with at least 10% of a functioning brain and not infested by dementia and not pathologically vindictive would just let it go. Will the Orange Peril let it go? Let’s wait and find out! We’ve just found out, and nobody is surprised. > **[Furious Trump is considering removing Pirro over Reflecting Pool filing,...](https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/03/politics/jeanine-pirro-removal-reflecting-pool)** > > President Donald Trump is considering removing Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, over a Justice Department filing on the Reflecting Pool, two people familiar with his thinking told CNN. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/73 "2026-08-04T00:01:27Z")
> > **[Jeanine Pirro Seen Leaving the White House with Box Hours After Trump's Diss](https://www.tmz.com/2026/08/03/jeanine-pirro-leaves-white-house-after-donald-trump-calls-her-out/)** > > Jeanine Pirro's leaving the White House with her tail between her legs ... this hours after Donald Trump ripped into her for walking back the Reflecting Pool vandalism charges against David Hearn. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/74 "2026-08-04T00:06:01Z")
A white box like that is the classic sign that someone was let go, as it would contain one’s personal stuff from the office. But her office wouldn’t have been at the White House, would it? So why would she be bringing the box out of there? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/75 "2026-08-04T00:12:27Z")
Is it possible she spent enough time there that she kept some stuff at the WH? I did see one random ‘find a celebrity’ website that shows two address for her, one of them being the WH. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/76 "2026-08-04T00:12:28Z")
Re: The other three charged: > [@Joey\_P](#): > > > [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > > > Their names haven’t been released > > At least three of them have. Cameron Thiers, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Justin Carreno. Article in AP today mentions that their cases are dropped too. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/77 "2026-08-04T00:23:19Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Is it possible she spent enough time there that she kept some stuff at the WH? > > I did see one random ‘find a celebrity’ website that shows two address for her, one of them being the WH. She is, or was, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia. Perhaps she did have an office at the White House but that would be yet another sign of how fucked up this administration is. IMHO, her office should be completely distinct from the administration. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/78 "2026-08-04T00:28:16Z")
Could just be a 5D chess move from her. Let Trump see her taking out a white box, to make him think that he already fired her, so he doesn’t do it in actuality and her real office still has all of her stuff. Which of course wouldn’t fool anyone but an absolute idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/79 "2026-08-04T00:30:49Z")
That just might work! ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2026, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087/80 "2026-08-04T00:34:22Z")
I did a little FBI zoom & enhance on the picture. [![](https://i.imgur.com/hitb41w.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/hitb41w.png) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reflecting-pool-case-against-david-hearn-dropped/1032087.md?page=5)