President Donald Trump said Sunday that a small portion of the renovation work at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was affected by contractor mistakes, while continuing to insist that vandalism also played a role in the damage despite prosecutors dropping the criminal case against an Olympic canoeist.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said repairs to the Reflecting Pool are nearing completion and emphasized that the construction issues were limited in scope.

“There was substantial damage to the Reflecting Pool, also but, unfortunately, there is no video or proof, other than the damage, itself,” he wrote on Truth Social. “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.”

Trump also reiterated his allegation that former Olympic canoeist David Hearn damaged the pool. According to the president, a longtime National Park Service employee witnessed Hearn allegedly pulling on the pool’s protective surface and later relayed that account to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.

Trump claimed that a National Park Service “career employee, a highly credible witness,” saw Olympian David Hearn “in broad daylight vandalize the Reflecting Pool by ‘violently’ ripping and tugging at the Pool’s somewhat delicate coating.” He added that this employee’s testimony was provided to U.S. Attorney of the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.

The president concluded by announcing that surveillance cameras have been installed at the site and that additional security measures are being implemented.

The latest statement came a day after Trump shared photographs on Truth Social that he identified as evidence of vandalism while urging Pirro to reconsider the Justice Department’s decision to dismiss charges against several individuals accused of damaging the landmark.

Those images showed what appeared to be graffiti and sections where the pool’s protective coating had peeled away. Trump labeled both photographs simply as “Vandalism.”

The president has continued pressing the Justice Department to reverse its decision to drop the criminal case. On Friday, he publicly called on Pirro to reconsider what he described as “her hastily made decision.”

Meanwhile, D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman officially dismissed the charges against Hearn. The court is expected to decide at a later date whether prosecutors may file charges against him again in the future.

Last week, Trump criticized Pirro over the outcome of the case, saying she had “choked” in handling the matter.

The dispute stems from problems that surfaced after the Reflecting Pool underwent renovations ahead of America’s 250th anniversary celebration. Pieces of “American flag blue” paint were seen floating on the water, while green algae blooms also appeared. Trump has maintained that vandals were responsible for both issues.

After the charges against Hearn were dropped, Pirro’s office instead pointed to problems with the renovation work itself, blaming the contractor for excessive paint overspray and delamination of the pool’s protective coating.

“The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed,” prosecutors wrote.

{Matzav.com}