АНУ-ын ерөнхийлөгч Дональд Трамп түүхэн дурсгалт газрын эвдрэлийг бусдын санаатай үйлдэлтэй холбон тайлбарлаж буй энэ үед Холбооны мөрдөх товчооны (FBI) төлөөлөгчид Линкольны дурсгалын цогцолборын усан санд үзлэг хийж эхэлжээ.
Уг усан санг сэргээн засварлах ажил өнгөрсөн дөрөвдүгээр сард эхэлсэн бөгөөд 2 сая ам.долларын төсөвтэй байсан уг төсөл одоо 16 сая гаруй ам.долларын зардалтай болоод байна. Ерөнхийлөгч Трамп усан санд үүссэн замаг болон будгийн гэмтлийг хүмүүс санаатайгаар эвдэлсэн гэж үзэж байгаа ч мэргэжилтнүүд үүнийг үнэтэй бөгөөд алдаатай шийдвэрийн үр дагавар гэж шүүмжилж байна. Одоогоор усан санг хашиж, FBI-ийн төлөөлөгчид лазер сканнердах болон хэмжилтийн багаж ашиглан нөхцөл байдлыг судалж байна.
АНУ-ын Паркийн цагдаагийн газрын мэдээлснээр, усан сангийн хөөсөн бүрхүүлд 20 фут урттай зүсэлт үүссэн байна. Энэ хэрэгтэй холбогдуулан олимпын наадмын тамирчин асан Дэвид Хирнийг эд хөрөнгө устгасан хэргээр буруутгаж байгаа боловч тэрээр уг хэргийг үгүйсгэж, буруугүй гэдгээ мэдэгдээд байна. Түүний өмгөөлөгчдийн зүгээс усан санд хүрсэн үйлдлийг гэмт хэрэг гэж үзэх нь үндэслэлгүй болохыг онцолжээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
FBI agents have been seen searching the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as President Trump continues to blame damage to the historical site on vandals.
The Reflecting Pool has been the center of controversy in recent months, after the president ordered for the pool to be restored – only for algae blooms and peeling paint to appear after much of the work was completed.
As recently as this week, Trump has claimed on Truth Social that the Reflecting Pool was “slashed with a knife, or box cutter.” He has blamed the algae blooms on supposed vandals, too.
On Wednesday afternoon, people sporting FBI insignia were at the site, which had been drained. They appeared to be using laser-scanning and measuring equipment as they stood on the pool floor, which was slicked with grime, according to a New York Times photographer.
A spokesperson for the agency told the publication that the team was investigating alleged damage to the pool to assist U.S. Park Police.
Trump unveiled plans to refurbish the pool back in April, estimating that the project would cost around $2 million. However, the Trump administration has now spent over $16 million on the project.
The president said that he wanted the work on the pool to be completed by the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Ahead of the U.S.’s Semiquincentennial, a chain-link fence was installed around the Reflecting Pool, which could remain in place until early next year, according to federal procurement records reviewed by The Independent.
Craig Holman, a federal ethics and government affairs expert at Public Citizen, told The Independent that the fencing around the pool was the “result of Trump trying to cover up a costly mistake.”
“The purpose of the fencing is simply to prevent curious citizens from gathering and displaying the fraying paint flakes, which Trump fears would further publicise the foolishness of his decision to paint the pool and to choose political supporters who otherwise lack the qualifications to do the painting,” he continued.
The pool has been plagued by algae for decades, although Trump blamed the bright green blooms that appeared at the site on vandals who supposedly dumped fertilizer in the water.
The president also suggested on Truth Social that the pool’s “American-flag blue” coating was peeling because it was “cut and powerfully lifted off the surface.”
A June 9 report by the U.S. Park Police obtained by The NYT confirmed that “razor blade slashes” had been made along a 20-foot-long strip of the pool’s foam. Documents also viewed by the publication described the damage as two 171-foot blade cuts.
Among those accused of vandalising the pool is former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of destruction of property.
Hearn has denied vandalising or damaging the pool, telling The Daily Mail that he simply touched a “loose flap of coating.”
“If Mr Hearn can be charged with a felony for touching the Reflecting Pool, every American is at risk,” Norm Eisen, one of Hearn’s attorneys, told reporters. “It is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool, to touch water, in the United States of America.”
The Independent has contacted the FBI for comment.
