Trump administration admits Reflecting Pool was a ‘botched job’ all along

Updated August 1, 2026 — 11:03am,first published 10:02amWashington: The Trump administration has admitted that the damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of a botched installation by President Donald Trump’s contractor – not vandalism, as Trump and his team have repeatedly claimed.In a Friday afternoon court filing (US time), Trump’s handpicked federal prosecutor in Washington, Jeanine Pirro, moved to dismiss criminal charges against former Olympic athlete David Hearn, whom the administration wrongly accused of vandalising the memorial.The Reflecting Pool has now been drained. For the first time, the Trump administration admitted the damage was caused by a botched installation.AP Photo/Rahmat GulPirro said it was not until after Hearn was indicted that the Department of the Interior provided additional documents to her office “indicating that the damage … was the result of flawed installation by the contractor”, Atlantic Industrial Coatings.Also contributing to the damage was “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026”, Pirro said.Atlantic Industrial Coatings received a no-bid government contract to renovate the pool and turn the water “American flag blue” after having worked on a swimming pool at Trump’s golf club in Virginia. It had not previously been awarded a federal contract.When the newly installed liner on the pool’s base began to peel off, Trump blamed it on vandalism. Without evidence, he accused left-wing vandals of cutting a 300-metre-long gash down the middle of the floor.Trump repeatedly blamed vandals for the damage without evidence, alleging they had cut the flooring with a box cutter.AP Photo/Allison RobbertBut in court on Friday, Pirro admitted: “The damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by the Department of the Interior.”The new documents “significantly undermine the evidentiary basis for the indictment”, she added.In the filing, Pirro says an expert inspected the Reflecting Pool on July 17, after it was drained for a second time, along with Pirro and senior employees from the district attorney’s office.They “immediately noted extensive damage throughout the now-drained pool” and requested all documents from DOI, which furnished them with 695 megabytes of additional records.Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn (centre) and his attorney Norman Eisen (left) after Hearn pleaded not guilty to the charges.AP Photo/Rod Lamkey“These documents indicated a rushed and flawed installation process, with repeated failures of the lining during the installation process, and extensive peeling of the lining throughout the Reflecting Pool. This was the first time that DOI made [the attorney’s office] aware of such information.”The filing makes clear that the installation was plagued by trouble from the start. As early as May 20, two weeks after work began, inspectors noticed “blistering in the finished portions of the lining” and alerted the contractor of the need for repairs, which occurred.Work was completed on June 7, and a final inspection took place on June 9. But just two days later, a National Park Service engineer emailed both NPS and DOI personnel, alerting them to the fact that the pool’s lining was peeling off. He described the damage and included photographs.Pirro notes these concerns were relayed to the government “eight days before the defendant was arrested and the same day that fencing was removed from the site”, opening it to the public.President Donald Trump showing the media a render of the Reflecting Pool with its water coloured “American flag blue”.AP Photo/Alex BrandonA later report, following inspections by engineers after the pool was drained in July, mentioned various theories as to why the damage may have occurred. But over-spraying and a failure of the coatings to bond dominated their thinking, Pirro said.“Photographs from the report show the extent of damage to the pool caused by over-spraying and delamination. Damage was noted throughout the Reflecting Pool, and not just at the perimeter.”Trump claimed vandals had cut a 350-foot slit from one end of the pool to the other. “I saw it,” he said on June 22, in the lead-up to Independence Day celebrations. “They cut it very violently.”NPS and DOI would provide evidence of the vandalism to the media, Trump said, but that never occurred. He also claimed six people had been arrested.National Guard members patrol the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool following reports of vandalism.AP Photo/Mark SchiefelbeinOn June 25, the White House issued a press release titled: “Radical Lunatics Deface America’s Reflecting Pool – and President Trump Was Right (Again).”“This isn’t random mischief - it’s targeted sabotage by anti-American crackpots who despise a strong, proud and beautiful country,” the White House claimed at the time.The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the government’s backflip or questions about whether Trump would apologise.Hearn pleaded not guilty and maintained that he, as “a curious citizen”, only reached into the pool and touched a chunk of material that was already loose. On Friday, his lawyers said the case against him should never have been brought.“Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong,” the lawyers said. “The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr Hearn an apology.”With APGet a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.From our partners