President Donald Trump said late Tuesday that he has not decided whether Jeanine Pirro will remain U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia following her decision to dismiss felony charges against a man accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Trump made the comments while speaking with reporters shortly before boarding Air Force One in Los Angeles after attending a Republican National Committee event at his Rancho Palos Verdes golf club.
The president was asked whether Pirro would continue serving in her current position after he publicly criticized her handling of the case involving David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist.
Last week, Pirro moved to dismiss a felony charge accusing Hearn of destruction of government property. The Justice Department’s criminal complaint had alleged that Hearn damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a project whose renovation Trump has personally overseen.
In her motion to dismiss the charge, Pirro said the Department of the Interior, which oversees the Reflecting Pool, had failed to provide her office with relevant information before prosecutors filed the case. She also stated that the problems affecting the Reflecting Pool stemmed from what she described as a “botched installation.”
That explanation drew criticism from legal experts, who questioned the level of due diligence performed before the criminal charge was brought.
Trump has repeatedly disagreed with Pirro’s assessment of the situation. On Monday, he told reporters that Pirro had “choked” in her handling of the prosecution after her office sought to dismiss the case.
Later that day, Pirro was called to the White House, where, according to two sources briefed on the meeting who spoke to CNN, the president “read her the riot act.”
Speaking to reporters Tuesday night, Trump once again maintained that the damage to the Reflecting Pool was the result of vandalism, repeating claims he has made previously.
“And everybody saw the vandalism,” Trump said before referring to what he described as a “tape” that may or may not exist.
“All you have to do is look at the tape,” Trump continued. “If you look at the tape– plus, we have a witness or two witnesses that saw the vandalism. So, certainly, there was vandalism. It was actually, in my opinion, it was major vandalism. And I told her I was not happy.”
A reporter then asked Trump directly whether Pirro’s job was secure.
“Is she safe?” the reporter asked. “Are you gonna keep her in the position?”
Trump declined to offer a definitive answer.
“Uh,” the president replied. “I haven’t made a determination.”
The exchange leaves Pirro’s future as the top federal prosecutor in Washington uncertain following the controversy surrounding the Reflecting Pool case.
The dismissal of the charge against Hearn was not the only action taken by Pirro’s office. After dropping the case against the former Olympic canoeist, prosecutors also sought to dismiss charges against three additional defendants connected to the Reflecting Pool investigation.
Trump’s latest comments underscore his continued dissatisfaction with the handling of the case, while leaving open the possibility of future personnel changes. For now, however, the president said only that he has not reached a decision on whether Pirro will remain in her current role as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
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