A witness in the criminal case against former Olympic canoeist Davey Hearn testified that the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool had substantial existing damage long before the athlete allegedly touched it, undermining prosecutors' property destruction charge, court filings revealed Monday.
A National Park Service official told the grand jury that the pool was already leaking more than one million gallons of water weekly, had expansion joints beyond their useful life, and contained a rip in the liner. The same repairs would have been necessary regardless of Hearn's conduct, the witness stated.
Hearn's legal team seized on that testimony to challenge the felony indictment he faces. In their court filing, they argued that prosecutors presented the grand jury with inadequate evidence to support the damage allegations central to the case. The witness could not identify any additional cost or damage caused by Hearn's alleged actions, the filing states.
"Simply put, the government's witness could not identify any additional cost caused by Mr Hearn's alleged conduct," defense attorneys wrote. "Indeed, the witness did not even say or suggest that the alleged conduct had compromised the liner at all."
Hearn, 67, pleaded not guilty in July to one felony count of property destruction, which carries a potential 10-year prison sentence and $1,000 fine. His trial is set for September 28 in Washington DC Superior Court.
The case stems from an incident on June 19 when Hearn was detained by the National Guard and U.S. Park Police for five hours after stopping at the pool during a bike ride. He said he reached into the water and briefly touched a chunk of liner attached to the side but let go when a park worker instructed him to do so.
The reflecting pool became a political flashpoint after the pool's condition deteriorated following the nation's 250th birthday celebration. President Trump had authorized a $16 million renovation that included coating the pool with specialized blue paint marketed as "American flag blue" to address persistent leaks and algae blooms.
The expensive fix proved unsuccessful. The liner began separating, and the pool turned green after aeration machines were shut down before a UFC event on the White House grounds. Trump attributed the failure to vandals and charged three people, including Hearn, with misdemeanor counts related to touching the blue liner.
In their Monday filing, Hearn's attorneys also requested prosecutors disclose the legal instructions given to grand jurors about the criminal charge requirements and demanded access to all grand jury transcripts. They argued there were "irregularities" in the grand jury proceedings that reflected a "misleading presentation" of evidence.
"The grand jury's indictment of Mr Hearn is hard to explain," the defense team wrote. "Mr Hearn needs to learn whether the grand jury was properly instructed that the charge required him to have caused over $1,000 in damages, when the testimony failed to establish that he caused any damage at all."
The NPS witness estimated repair costs at $6,000 to $15,000 based solely on preexisting damage in the affected area. The U.S. Attorney's office did not respond to requests for comment on the defense claims.
The pool remains a focus of Trump's attention. During a campaign speech in Michigan on Monday, he claimed a "sick" person had cut the liner and said the pool "is in the hospital now, but it's going to get better very soon."
Author James Rodriguez: "Hard to see how prosecutors prove Hearn caused a thousand dollars in damage when their own witness couldn't quantify any damage from his conduct at all."
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