Donald Trump accused US attorney Jeanine Pirro of having “folded like an umbrella” amid reports that he was considering removing her from her post.
Trump criticized Pirro on Monday after she dropped vandalism charges against a former Olympian accused of damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. Trump nominated Pirro to serve as interim US attorney for the District of Columbia last year, and the Senate later confirmed her in August.
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, Trump said: “Frankly, 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, and I guess she choked,” appearing to refer to DC superior court judge Todd Edelman who is overseeing the vandalism case.
He added: “I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. She folded like an umbrella.”
Trump refused to answer a follow-up question from a reporter on whether he is reconsidering her role, instead saying: “You’re fake news. Don’t ever talk again.”
Last Friday, the justice department dismissed the criminal case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, one of seven people charged in connection with what Trump claimed were attempts to vandalize the $15m renovation of the reflecting pool.
Hearn had faced a felony property destruction charge that carried a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $1,000 fine. He pleaded not guilty last month.
According to the justice department last week, the damage to the pool liner came as “the result of flawed installation by the contractor”.
Pirro said her office received documents from the interior department only “after the return of the indictment” that showed the pool was already damaged before Hearn touched the water on 19 June.
A motion by government lawyers said that 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”.
Pirro’s office said “it was not until after these documents were produced” that it “first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI.”
Trump’s public attacks against Pirro on Monday follows his Truth Social post over the weekend in which he said: “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM.”
Speaking to CNN, one person familiar with the matter said that Trump is “furious” with Pirro and that they think it is “highly likely she’s removed from her job”.
Meanwhile, one senior administration official told the outlet that Trump was “blindsided” by Pirro’s decision, adding: “The president did not know beforehand that she was going to do that.”
The Guardian has reached out to the White House and the justice department for comment.
