Attorney General Todd Blanche has not ruled out reviving a discredited criminal case against an innocent man accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Days into being sworn in as the new head of the Justice Department, the former Trump lawyer faces an early test as the White House pushes the DOJ to consider a new prosecution against Olympic canoeist David Hearn, despite the earlier case being thrown out because it lacked evidence.
Asked about the matter during a press conference on Wednesday, Blanche meandered through an answer, initially telling the reporter, “I don’t know what you mean by the White House has asked us to do that” before eventually saying, “I don’t have an update on that.”
“I think there’s been a lot of comments and source-based comments about what, if anything, is happening with that case,” he said, adding that they were “waiting for a ruling.”
Hearn’s lawyers are also waiting for a ruling, because while the case against the 60-year-old Olympian has been thrown out, the judge left one question open: whether it was “with” or “without” prejudice.
“Without prejudice” would allow the president to charge Hearn again, essentially whenever he wanted.
Hearn’s co-counsel Steve Levin, of Steptoe LLP, told the Daily Beast that settling this matter was important to “preclude any possibility of being unfairly charged again.”
But the president seems determined to pursue the issue, even after his own handpicked prosecutor Jeanine Pirro dropped the charges against Hearn earlier this month after finding damage to the iconic landmark wasn’t caused by vandalism at all, but rather by a botched job from Trump’s own contractor.
The Reflecting Pool revamp was meant to be finished in time for America’s 250th birthday celebrations on July 4, with Trump giving the job to a contractor who had helped repair a pool at his Virginia golf course.
But instead of creating a clean pool with an “American flag blue” surface, the landmark became an algae-infested mess, and in turn, a national embarrassment.
Pirro, who prosecutes cases in the District of Columbia, initially charged the former Olympian, claiming that witnesses saw him “forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner” of the pool.
However, the former Fox host ended up dropping the charges in a stunning reversal that almost led to her being fired.
“I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,” Trump fumed at the time, declaring his MAGA prosecutor had “choked.”
“Really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,” he added. “She folded like an umbrella.”
Trump’s attempt to revive the matter now presents a challenge for Blanche, who was only narrowly confirmed last week due to numerous senators being concerned about his ability to lead the department independently.
Blanche used to be Trump’s personal attorney and represented him in the so-called “hush money” trial that led to the president being criminally convicted of falsifying business documents to cover up a sex scandal with porn star Stormy Daniels.
He has also faced mounting controversy over his stewardship of the Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, and for his role in creating a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” slush fund that gave Trump sweeping immunity from certain tax audits.
Blanche has promised to rescind the fund, but Trump has since given mixed signals.
Asked to clarify if it was “dead,” the Attorney General said on Wednesday: “I keep on saying this over and over again, but I’m happy to say it one more time.
“I have testified under oath that it’s dead. I have testified in front of the House where I wasn’t under oath, where I said it was dead… I have answered questions after my hearing, where I said that it was dead.
“I’m not sure how I can further … say that the anti-weaponization fund doesn’t exist."
