АНУ-ын прокурор Жанин Пирро Линкольны дурсгалын цогцолборын усан сангийн бүрхүүлийг гэмтээсэн хэрэгт буруутгагдаж байсан олимпын тамирчин асан Дэвид Хирний эсрэг үүсгэсэн эрүүгийн хэргийг хэрэгсэхгүй болгожээ.
Баасан гарагт шүүхэд ирүүлсэн баримт бичигт прокурор Пирро усан сангийн бүрхүүл гэмтсэн нь гэрээт гүйцэтгэгчийн суурилуулалтын алдаатай холбоотой болохыг хүлээн зөвшөөрсөн байна. Уг хэрэг нь АНУ-ын Дотоод хэргийн яамнаас ирүүлсэн буруу ташаа мэдээллийн улмаас үүссэн гэж үзэж байгаагаа тэрээр илэрхийлжээ. Прокурор уг ажилд тендергүйгээр шалгарсан, туршлагагүй гүйцэтгэгч оролцсон нь засварын ажил чанаргүй болоход нөлөөлсөн гэж үзэж байна.
Дэвид Хирнийг “харгис хэрцгийгээр” усан сангийн бүрхүүлийг эвдсэн хэмээн буруутгаж, эрүүгийн хэрэг үүсгэсэн нь олон нийтийн болон хуулийн мэргэжилтнүүдийн эсэргүүцэлтэй тулгарчээ. Шүүмжлэгчид прокурор Пиррог улс төрийн зорилгоор мөрдөн байцаалтын ажиллагаа дуусаагүй байхад яаран яллах дүгнэлт үйлдсэн хэмээн буруутгаж, түүнийг албан тушаалаас нь огцруулах, хуульчийн эрхийг нь цуцлахыг шаардаж байна.
Энэхүү үйл явдал нь прокурор Пиррогийн хувьд сүүлийн үед тохиолдож буй томоохон бүтэлгүйтлүүдийн нэг болж байна. Өмнө нь түүний албанаас явуулсан хэд хэдэн өндөр албан тушаалтан болон бусад иргэдийн эсрэг хэргүүд шүүх дээр нотлогдоогүй эсвэл тангарагтны шүүх цагаатгасан тохиолдол гарч байсан юм. Прокурорын албанаас шүүмжлэлүүдийн талаар тайлбар өгөхөөс татгалзаж, шүүхэд гаргасан баримт бичигт бүх зүйл тодорхой байгаа гэж мэдэгджээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is facing public calls to apologize, be removed from office or be disbarred after she moved to dissolve a criminal case against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Friday afternoon, Pirro reversed course on her vandalism case against David Hearn, admitting in a court filing that damage to a recently installed pool liner was “the result of flawed installation by the contractor.”
Her admission was not only a complete contradiction of her and President Donald Trump’s previous assertions, but it’s just the latest in a string of high-profile losses.
Mark Zaid, an attorney who focuses on national security cases, called the situation “absolutely embarrassing” for Pirro, adding: “I trust at least a public apology is forthcoming to all of those adversely affected by these frivolous prosecutions.”
Norman Ornstein, a political scientist at a conservative think tank, wrote on X: “She is utterly culpable and should be removed and disbarred.”
Ron Filipkowski, an attorney and editor of MediasTouch, also called for Pirro to be disbarred, saying, “It is absolutely indefensible and gross misconduct to rush through a criminal indictment for political reasons before an investigation has been completed, which resulted in false evidence being presented to a grand jury.”
Conservative political commentator Scott Jennings criticized the administration’s faulty evidence in the case, agreeing that Hearn is “owed an apology.”
“The administration looks like a monkey having intimate relations with a football,” Jennings told CNN’s “The Source” Friday evening.
Jennings added: “[Hearn] ought to sue anybody that he thinks he can to get his name back.”
When asked for comment on criticism, a spokesperson for Pirro’s office said: “The filing speaks for itself.”
Earlier this month, Pirro brought a one-count felony indictment against Hearn for deliberately destroying property after the administration accused him of “violently” pulling up on the newly installed Reflecting Pool liner.
While announcing the indictment, Pirro had fervently pushed back on skepticism that Hearn destroyed the pool liner. Hearn had denied the government’s accusations and insisted the pool was damaged when he visited it.
But Pirro’s assertion aligned with Trump’s claim that multiple people vandalized the Reflecting Pool – which the president had ordered his administration to quickly refurbish to try and get rid of the blooming algae on the surface.
However, algae returned shortly after the pool was re-sealed and a liner was installed. The new sealant also started to peel off in chunks that bubbled to the surface.
In Friday’s court filing, Pirro said her team was misled by the Interior Department, which allegedly misrepresented that “nearly all of the damage” to the pool was due to vandals when it was the result of faulty installation.
Pirro blamed the peeling of the pool’s lining on rushed repairs completed by a first-time government contractor that received a no-bid contract.
Though Pirro has seemingly blamed the Interior Department for not providing all the information, people online still held her accountable.
Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News host, called Pirro’s reversal “unbelievable” and “disgraceful.”
Marc Scaringi, an attorney who represented Trump’s campaign in 2020, said it was “stunning how easily and brazenly Jeanine Pirro, President Trump, and other Trump Administration officials lie…”
“The blatant lies, political prosecutions, and lawfare coming from the Trump DOJ must stop,” Scaringi wrote on X.
Pirro’s office has previously failed to secure prosecutions against individuals that the Trump administration had targeted.
Last year, Pirro failed to persuade three separate grand juries to indict a woman on felony charges for assaulting an FBI agent during an anti-ICE protest. Once Pirro reduced the charges to a misdemeanor, a jury still refused to find the woman guilty.
The U.S. Attorney for D.C. also failed to secure grand jury indictments for a person accused of making threats against an official as well as a man accused of physically resisting arrest.
Notably, a jury declined to charge a man who flung a sub-style sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent.
