US Attorney General Blanche defends colleague after Trump’s reflecting pool slam
US Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday that he backs top Washington prosecutor Jeanine Pirro, who was criticised by US President Donald Trump for the way she handled a case of alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
“I absolutely support US Attorney Pirro, as does President Trump,” Blanche said on NBC’s Meet the Press programme.
The Trump administration fast-tracked a renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation’s Fourth of July celebrations, at a cost of about US$14.7 million.
Within weeks an algae bloom developed and material at the bottom of the pool started peeling off. Federal authorities subsequently charged former US Olympian David Hearn and others with vandalism.
In a court filing asking for the case against Hearn to be dismissed, Pirro blamed the Reflecting Pool’s peeling issues on “flawed” work by a contractor and accused the Interior Department of providing incomplete information at first.
Trump subsequently posted that Pirro should revisit her “hastily made decision” to drop the case.
Blanche said he does not fault Trump for being frustrated over the matter, adding that a witness said they observed vandalism.