U.S. Justice Department moves to drop charges against Olympic canoeist David Hearn

The U.S. Justice Department is dropping its case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was charged with intentionally damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro moved to dismiss the indictment Friday, saying newly produced evidence from the Interior Department showed Hearn bore no responsibility for the pool's damage.

The damage instead stemmed from a botched contractor installation and rushed completion tied to the America 250 celebration surrounding July 4, according to Pirro's filing. Hearn's legal team argued Tuesday that evidence of the pool liner failing was plainly visible for weeks through photographs, video and news reports before he was ever indicted.

Hearn was charged after reaching into the pool on June 19 to examine peeling coating and briefly touching a chunk attached to the side. He said a park worker told him to let go of it, and he complied. Felony charges, including a possible prison sentence, were brought "without a meaningful investigation into the central and obvious question," his lawyers wrote.

The contractor, Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, was awarded a $14.7 million no-bid contract to repaint and waterproof the pool's concrete floor. The firm had publicly acknowledged before Hearn's indictment that portions of the project required repair. Hearn's legal team is asking a judge to permanently dismiss the case and bar the Trump administration from reviving it.