DEFLECTING POOL

Trump Melts Down at Judge Jeanine Over Pool Sabotage Fantasy

The president won’t say whether Pirro’s job is safe.

President Donald Trump is refusing to say whether he’s going to fire Jeanine Pirro for failing to prosecute a former Olympian accused of vandalizing a D.C. landmark.

Trump, 80, handpicked Pirro, 75, to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, making the former Fox News host the capital’s top prosecutor.

But her decision last week to drop charges against Olympic canoeist David Hearn infuriated the president and prompted speculation that Pirro would soon be out of a job.

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Hearn had been accused of deliberately vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after it was refurbished in a multimillion-dollar project personally overseen by the president. He had faced up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

The charges were dropped last Friday, with Pirro instead blaming a botched construction job for damage to the pool’s newly replaced lining.

Trump has since raged at Pirro over her decision, complaining on Monday that she had “choked” and “folded like an umbrella.”

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, the president refused to accept Pirro’s finding that uniform damage across the pool floor was consistent with a faulty sealant overspray and shoddy installation rather than human tampering.

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“I just think she’s totally wrong. They did a beautiful job,” the president told reporters at Los Angeles International Airport. “There were a couple of little things, but that was not a big deal.”

He also refused to let go of his claims of deliberate damage to the pool’s flooring.

“Everybody saw the vandalism,” he insisted. “All you have to do is look at the tape. If you look at the tape—plus we have a witness or two witnesses that saw the vandalism. So, certainly there was vandalism. Actually, in my opinion, it was major vandalism, and I told her I was not happy.”

When asked directly if he would Pirro was “safe” or if she would keep her role, Trump said, “I haven’t made a determination.”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the DOJ for comment.

Trump was reportedly blindsided by Pirro’s decision to drop the case, having not been informed in advance that prosecutors planned to dismiss the case.

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Hearn, 67, pleaded not guilty to a single count of destruction of property. His lawyers have said that Trump owes him an apology, but there has been zero indication from the White House that one is coming.

Pirro’s office also dropped charges against three other individuals previously accused of destroying the president’s pet renovation project, Justin Carreno, Sophie Dennison-Gibby, and Cameron Thiers.

The three individuals, along with Hearn, were painted as “vandals” by Trump over a supposed slit in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

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In April, Trump claimed he had consulted with a trio of firms who had worked on swimming pools at his properties, selecting one that had done work at his golf course in Northern Virginia.

That firm was Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which was awarded a $14.7 million no-bid contract to repaint and waterproof its concrete floor, which Trump wanted to be painted “American flag blue.”

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