АНУ-ын Ерөнхийлөгч Дональд Трамп Линкольны дурсгалын цогцолборын усан сангийн засварын ажил саатсаныг хууль бус үйлдэлтэй холбон тайлбарлаж, гэм буруутай этгээдүүдийг хариуцлагад татахыг шаардлаа.
Ерөнхийлөгч Дональд Трамп даваа гарагт өөрийн цахим хуудсаараа дамжуулан усан санг засварлахаар усгүйжүүлсэн болохыг мэдэгдэв. Тэрээр усан сангийн ёроолд гарсан эвдрэл, гэмтлийг “хууль бус этгээдүүд” зориудаар үйлдсэн гэж үзэж байгаа бөгөөд уг асуудлыг “эх орондоо хайргүй хүмүүсийн үйлдэл” хэмээн тодорхойлсон байна. Түүний мэдэгдсэнээр, усан сангийн бүрхүүлийг огтолж, их хэмжээний хохирол учруулсан тул дахин засварлахад хүргэжээ.
Усан сангийн засварын ажил эхэлснээс хойш түүний өнгө үзэмж, бүрхүүл хуурах болон усны өнгө ногоорч замаг үүсэх зэрэг асуудлууд гарсан нь олон нийтийн анхаарлыг татаад байсан юм. Хэдийгээр АНУ-ын Ерөнхийлөгч үүнийг хорлон сүйтгэх ажиллагаатай холбон тайлбарлаж байгаа ч, хэвлэл мэдээллийнхэн тухайн газарт үзлэг хийхэд хэлж буй шиг их хэмжээний огтлолт, эвдрэл ажиглагдаагүй гэж мэдээлж байв.
Энэ хэрэгтэй холбогдуулан зургаан хүнийг баривчилсан бөгөөд тэдний дунд олимпийн тамирчин Дэвид Херн байгаа юм. Тэрээр усан сангийн бүрхүүлийг зориудаар гэмтээсэн гэх хэрэгт буруугүй хэмээн мэдүүлж, уг асуудал нь засварын ажлын чанар муу, тендерийн сонгон шалгаруулалт ил тод бус байсантай холбоотой гэж өмгөөлөгчид нь үзэж байна.
АНУ-ын Конгрессын гишүүд болон бусад улс төрчид уг төслийн хэрэгжилтэд шүүмжлэлтэй хандаж, засварын ажлын чанар болон санхүүжилтийн талаар тайлбар шаардаж байна. Одоогийн байдлаар усан санг дахин засварлаж, хамгаалалтын бүсийг нэмэгдүүлэн хяналтыг чангатгаад байна.
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President Donald Trump has said that the “vandals” and “sleazebags” he alleges ruined his $16 million makeover of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool “should pay a big price for the damage done.”
Offering an update on the ongoing repair work on Truth Social late Monday, the president wrote: “We drained the beautiful ‘Reflecting Pool’ today in order to fix the scars and damage that was done by the Vandals two weeks ago.
“We wanted to wait until after the July 4th Weekend. The slashes were 300 yards long, and the floor of the pool was cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs.
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“The Parks Department had to empty the water in order to fix the water tight basin. It will be refilled and put back into service soon. These Country hating sleazebags should pay a big price for the damage done.”
Trump’s “beautification” of the pool became a fiasco last month after its new “American Flag Blue” sealant began to peel away from the bottom as soon as it was refilled after cleaning, a problem exacerbated by the emergence of algae blooms shortly after turning the water a lurid green color.
The president blamed the problems on Democrat-aligned saboteurs who he claimed had cut a long gash in the base of the pool using a “box cutter or knife,” despite journalists including The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg and former CNN anchor Jim Acosta visiting the site and reporting no sign of it.
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Trump also speculated that the bad actors might have poured fertilizer into the water to encourage the growth of the algae, which he described in one angry post as “criminally made.”
Six people were ultimately arrested as Trump testily reminded the public that the penalty for destruction of government property is prison.
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Court documents later revealed that the National Park Service reported a June 9 incident to the U.S. Park Police involving a blade being used to cut into the pool’s new lining.
Last Thursday, former Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty in D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the monument after being arrested at the water’s edge.
Hearn stated that he had reached into the pool to examine the peeled sealant and immediately released a chunk of it when instructed to do so by a park employee.
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His attorneys and other critics of the Trump administration have denounced the case as an abuse of prosecutorial power, arguing that Hearn is being scapegoated when the real explanation for the calamity lies in the low quality of the repair work carried out, which saw no-bid contracts handed out with little scrutiny.
Online court records indicate that at least three other individuals have been charged with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the pool. All three entered not guilty pleas during their initial court appearances last Wednesday.
The Reflecting Pool remained closed for Trump’s semiquincentennial celebrations over the Fourth of July weekend, much to the president’s annoyance.
It has since had to be drained again as part of the latest round of repairs, which has seen fences erected around the landmark and security heightened to ensure no further repeat of the problems.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have meanwhile demanded answers about how the situation ever came to pass, with Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal calling the whole saga “a testament to incompetence.”
