President Donald Trump is reportedly considering removing U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro after her office dropped a felony vandalism case tied to damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a move that has reportedly left the president deeply frustrated and sparked a public rift over the high-profile prosecution.

According to CNN, Trump is “furious” over the Justice Department’s decision and it is “highly likely” that Pirro could lose her position after prosecutors filed court papers abandoning the administration’s earlier claim that vandals caused the damage.

CNN cited a senior administration official who said Trump was “blindsided” by the filing, which concluded that the damage resulted from a defective installation of the Reflecting Pool’s liner rather than an act of criminal vandalism.

Trump declined to say Monday whether Pirro’s job is in jeopardy when questioned by a reporter in the Oval Office.

“You’re fake news. Don’t ever talk again,” Trump said.

Later, the president openly criticized Pirro’s handling of the case, accusing her of backing down after prosecutors sought to dismiss the charges.

“She choked” and “folded like an umbrella,” Trump said.

“I’m really disappointed,” Trump told reporters.

Trump also maintained that the Reflecting Pool had been deliberately damaged, asserting that the administration possesses evidence showing individuals slicing the liner with a utility knife.

“We have photographs. We have tapes of people cutting it with a box knife,” Trump said. “Jeanine Pirro made a mistake. It was vandalism.”

On Friday, Pirro’s office formally asked the court to dismiss the felony vandalism charge against David Hearn, a 67-year-old former Olympic canoeist who had been accused of damaging the Reflecting Pool.

In its filing, the Justice Department explained that after Hearn was indicted, the Department of the Interior supplied additional information indicating the damage stemmed from a “rushed and flawed installation” of the pool liner rather than criminal conduct.

Prosecutors acknowledged that the original indictment relied on Interior Department information attributing the damage to vandals. However, later evidence pointed instead to defects associated with the renovation project.

“Had the Department of the Interior been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment,” Pirro’s office wrote in the filing.

Trump responded forcefully on Truth Social, saying he disagreed “100%” with Pirro’s decision and insisting the damage was “a pure case of VANDALISM.”

The disagreement is the latest chapter in an ongoing controversy surrounding the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation, a project that has faced persistent problems, including algae growth and sections of liner that have peeled away.

Trump has repeatedly insisted the damage was intentional, at various times claiming there was a 250-foot gash and later describing a 300-yard cut in the liner. Those assertions, however, have been challenged by outside reviews.

A Washington Post investigation, based on satellite imagery and interviews with experts, concluded that the liner appeared to be peeling in several locations, suggesting the issues were more likely related to installation problems than deliberate vandalism.

The restoration project has also attracted scrutiny over its escalating costs. Originally expected to cost about $1.8 million, the renovation reportedly grew to approximately $16 million, prompting Senate Democrats to question the project’s oversight, contracting procedures, quality control, and overall spending.

{Matzav.com}