{"id":4234,"date":"2026-08-01T11:36:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T11:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4234"},"modified":"2026-08-01T11:36:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T11:36:35","slug":"brutal-cnn-supercut-lays-bare-trump-teams-brazen-lies-that-just-blew-up-in-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4234","title":{"rendered":"Brutal CNN supercut lays bare Trump team’s ‘brazen lies’ \u2014 that just blew up in court"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A CNN supercut on Saturday exposed the lengths the Trump administration went to bolster false claims that \u201cvandals\u201d sabotaged the Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C., after the Department of Justice on Friday admitted by \u201ca rushed and botched installation by AIC, the primary contractor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump and his team for months have touted renovations at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which the president claimed in April was \u201cdecaying.\u201d In May, the Trump administration granted a \u201cno-bid\u201d contract to renovate the pool as administration officials made it clear Trump wanted the color of the liner \u201cchanged for the country\u2019s birthday party on July 4,\u201d the New York Times<\/em> reported. The president called the color \u201cAmerican flag blue.\u201d At a small business summit in May, Trump described the new liner as \u201cvery strong \u2026 if you had a knife, you can\u2019t even cut it, it\u2019s so strong, so powerful, it\u2019s like powerful rubber. It is beautiful. Sealed.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool … ballooned to more than $14.65 million,\u201d ABC News reported in June.<\/p>\n

Following the restoration, algae and liner issues plagued the pool, prompting the president to make various unsubstantiated claims that the memorial was \u201cdamaged by deranged vandals\u201d who cut increasingly large \u201cslashes\u201d into the liner with a \u201cbox cutter or knife.\u201d<\/p>\n

In mid July, the pool was drained once again \u201dto fix the scars and damage that was done by the vandals,\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social.<\/p>\n

Olympian David Hearn was among those accused by the Trump administration of sabotaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn was \u201cindicted July 2 on one count of felony destruction of property\u201d after \u201cU.S. Park Police alleged Hearn grabbed and tugged at a loose section of the pool\u2019s coating on June 19, continuing after a National Park Service employee told him to stop,\u201d Fox News reports.<\/p>\n

In an interview, Hearn \u201cacknowledged immersing his hand and touching the peeling sealant during a pause in a bike ride, but … said that is all he did,\u201d according to the Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for Hearn called the charges \u201coutrageous,\u201d adding they \u201cshould be alarming to every American.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president and his team\u2019s numerous false claims were rehashed on CNN This Morning Saturday as the network rolled the tape on their efforts to blame the Reflecting Pool’s problems on vandals.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomebody went in with a knife and cut it. They cut it up good,\u201d Trump said to reporters on June 23. <\/p>\n

Read more Iowa Republican\u2019s \u2018humble\u2019 fa\u00e7ade crumbles under extravagant mansions and a private jet<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think 209,300 foot lit right through it, slit, right through it. Probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind,\u201d Trump said in a separate Oval Office interview. \u201cAt the right time you\u2019ll see it, You’ll see it. You’ll see it in court.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a June 22 press conference, Trump Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed the damage on \u201cderanged individuals, many of them longtime donors to the Democrat party, to Barack Obama.”<\/p>\n

\u201cHe damaged this pool,\u201d U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro forcefully declared at a July 2 press conference regarding Hearn\u2019s arrest. Asked for evidence of damage during that presser, Pirro told a reporter, \u201cWell, when I file a charge, I’ll be happy to show you a picture. All right.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, Pirro moved to dismiss the charges against Hearn. <\/p>\n

Read more Critics maul Trump after DOJ drops its Reflecting Pool prosecution<\/a><\/p>\n

In a court filing, the Department of Justice said new evidence \u201csignificantly [undermines] the evidentiary basis for the indictment\u201d and laid blame for the false allegation at the hands of the Department of Interior (DOI).<\/p>\n

\u201cHad DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment,\u201d Pirro wrote in a motion to dismiss the charges. \u201cDOI\u2019s failure to fully and accurately provide information to USAODC undermined the government\u2019s ability to abide by these responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s final rope is \u2018snapping strand by strand\u2019: analysis<\/a><\/p>\n