A judge permanently dismissed the Trump administration's criminal case against Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was previously charged with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
The case had already been dismissed at the request of the U.S. attorney for Washington, DC, Jeanine Pirro. Pirro said in a July 31 court filing that the Justice Department based its indictment on "less than fulsome information" from the Department of the Interior, which has since provided evidence suggesting the damage was caused by flawed installation during a rush to complete renovations ahead of President Donald Trump's summer "America 250" celebration.
However, that earlier dismissal didn't prevent the DOJ from bringing the case again.
Lawyers for Hearn
asked the District of Columbia Superior Court to block prosecutors from re-charging Hearn, pointing to Trump's public statements criticizing Pirro for dropping the case and arguing the DOJ has shown a "willingness to seek or reinstate criminal charges to satisfy the President, irrespective of the law or facts."
This is a developing story that will be updated.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DOJ forever blocked from prosecuting Olympian in Reflecting Pool case
