Pirro Arrives At White House After Trump Says She ‘Choked,’ ‘Folded Like an Umbrella’

President Donald Trump on Monday escalated his criticism of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, accusing one of his longtime allies of “choking” after her office dropped criminal charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

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In the Oval Office, Trump expressed frustration with Pirro, who was appointed U.S. attorney in part because of her close relationship with the president.

“I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. She folded like an umbrella, and people get away with things, and it’s a disgrace,” Trump told reporters. 

The president was referring to news that broke Friday, when Pirro’s office determined that the damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool stemmed from faulty construction rather than vandalism.

The Daily Wire asked the White House whether Pirro’s job was in jeopardy following Trump’s criticism. The administration referred back to the president’s public comments without offering further clarification.

Pirro moved to drop criminal charges against David Heard, a former U.S. Olympian, who prosecutors accused of deliberately damaging the pool during a sweeping renovation project for America’s 250th anniversary. In a motion to dismiss the case, the D.C. Attorney’s Office blamed “flawed installation” by contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings for the damage, admitting that newly produced evidence “undermines the evidentiary basis” for the indictment.

Over the weekend, Trump said he “100%” disagreed with Pirro’s decision in a scathing Truth Social post, and on Monday, he emphasized his dissent from the White House.

“And frankly, I think she choked because the judge was extremely unfriendly to Jeanine,” Trump said. “I think she choked because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department.” 

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“And I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened,” he added. 

It marked a dramatic reversal for Pirro, who had secured a grand jury indictment against the three-time Olympian just weeks earlier, alleging he ripped a piece of sealant from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool with his bare hands. Hearn, 67, was facing a felony count of destruction of property following his arrest last month in the nation’s capital, The Daily Wire previously reported.

An attorney for Hearn said his client was innocent and that the grand jury charges were “outrageous and should be alarming to every American.”

“This was a deliberate act to damage the reflecting pool at the National Mall that members of the National Park Service actually have worked hard to restore,” Pirro said at a July 2 press conference. “We can state and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused damage, and that damage is over $1,000.”

On June 19, Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, was on a bike ride when he stopped to see the reflecting pool after viral reports of algae in the water, describing himself to ABC News as a “curious, concerned citizen.” 

That’s when U.S. Park Police warned, then cited, the former Olympian after he touched a piece of blue coating. Prosecutors say he later tore two square feet of sealant from the bottom of the pool, an account Hearn denies.

“I saw a piece of this loose end of this blue coating … I reached out and touched the end of that piece that was loose but still attached to the bottom,” Hearn told ABC News. “I was able to reach out and touch the edge that was still attached at the bottom and handled it a little bit.”

At the time, federal prosecutors painted a different picture of the incident. 

“Our evidence further shows that the National Park Service employees observed Hearn actually forcefully and violently pulling up and removing the bottom liner with both hands,” Pirro said in July, adding that witnesses described Hearn’s behavior as “belligerent” and “disrespectful.”

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