FILE PHOTO: A visitor holds their phone above fencing surrounding the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 8, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
Lawyer Norm Eisen expressed shock on CNN Tuesday about the possibility of President Donald Trump's DOJ reviving charges against Olympic canoeist David Hearn.
Hearn was accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool by the administration.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro dismissed the case last week after finding "no evidence beyond a reasonable doubt" because the damage resulted from "a botched and rushed installation" by the Interior Department, not Hearn.
In conversation with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, Eisen warned, if the DOJ refiles charges, Hearn's defense would immediately cite Pirro's own filing blaming the Interior Department, creating an absurd "DOJ versus DOJ" scenario.
Eisen, former special counsel to former President Barack Obama, recalled a memo stating presidents cannot interfere with enforcement cases "precisely to avoid this kind of thing."
"So the outrageousness of it, it won't stand in a court of law if it comes back, and I assume the reason we read about it today in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere is because people in the DOJ are as horrified as I am," he argued.
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