{"id":157249,"date":"2026-07-17T14:13:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/17\/litigants-ask-to-check-reflecting-pool-for-sabotage\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:13:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:13:20","slug":"litigants-ask-to-check-reflecting-pool-for-sabotage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/17\/litigants-ask-to-check-reflecting-pool-for-sabotage\/","title":{"rendered":"Litigants Ask To Check Reflecting Pool For \u2018Sabotage\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

After spending the evening free associating blather about a six-year-old election, the president woke up and started free associating<\/a> blather about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. <\/p>\n

The universe\u2019s least subtle metaphor is once again revealing its filthy, corrupted interior. The monument was drained again to repair the \u201cAmerican flag blue\u201d lining which started to visibly separate from the basin shortly after Trump\u2019s pool guys rolled it on \u2014 and the hydrogen peroxide they dumped in there to kill the algae bloom didn\u2019t help. Ditto for the presidential motorcade driving over it as the epoxy was curing.<\/p>\n

The president insists the pool was sabotaged by communist wreckers, presumably ninjas with magical powers to evade the observation of the multiple cameras that are trained on the pool at all hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe slashes were 300 yards long, and the floor of the pool was cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs,\u201d he screeched<\/a>. \u201cThese Country hating sleazebags should pay a big price for the damage done. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!\u201d<\/p>\n

As of now, the pool is fenced off to the public. An FBI forensic team was out there<\/a> on Wednesday trying to gin up evidence to support the president\u2019s claims, but according to an investigative report by the Washington Post, the damage lines up pretty cleanly with seams in the epoxy and extends throughout the center of the pool. <\/p>\n

Damn, those ninjas are tricky!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On July 2, US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro announced that they\u2019d nabbed one of the culprits, David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist \u2014 which is kind of like a ninja! He\u2019s been charged with felony vandalism in DC Superior Court and will certainly seek discovery of the supposed damage he inflicted. But in the meantime there\u2019s a pending civil suit where the plaintiffs are also demanding a better look at the pool.<\/p>\n

Until this week, The Cultural Landscape Foundation\u2019s lawsuit was mostly about paperwork \u2014 specifically, the paperwork the National Park Service didn\u2019t<\/em> do before it tarted up yet another national monument. TCLF sued<\/a> the Department of the Interior in the spring, arguing that NPS blew through the historic-preservation review required before altering a National Register-listed landscape as well as the required environmental review, all so the pool\u2019s grey basin could be turned blue in time for Donald Trump\u2019s July 4th party. The government insists that the $15 million teardown of a century-old waterproofing system was either an emergency repair or a mundane substitution that it is exempt from review. Notably, a sworn declaration<\/a> filed in the case by Frank Lands, NPS\u2019s Deputy Director for Operations, does not repeat Trump\u2019s claims about slashes that were \u201c300 yards long.\u201d Instead, Lands notes that \u201cthe U.S. Park Police responded to an NPS report of damage to the reflecting pool, including a caulk over the foam sealant that was cut with a sharp knife or razor and destruction of delaminating surface material.\u201d<\/p>\n

Was the NPS report accurate? Lands does not say, although he does seem to concede that the liner was already \u201cdelaminating\u201d before any of the saboteurs showed up. But TCLF aims to find <\/a>out<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Citing this \u201cunique but temporary opportunity for Plaintiffs to collect and preserve evidence that may be relevant to this case,\u201d the plaintiff asks Judge Carl Nichols to \u201callow members of Plaintiffs\u2019 counsel team (including any investigators and\/or experts) temporary access to the sidewalk surrounding the Reflecting Pool for the limited purpose of photographing and inspecting the condition of the basin to preserve that evidence for future use in the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

TCLF argues that the government has made representations about the condition of this pool, and once the basin is full of water and algae, whatever\u2019s actually down there is gone. Rule 34 permits a court to order a site inspection, and federal judges in DC grant this kind of request routinely when there\u2019s a real risk evidence might disappear or even be spoliated.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefendants are seemingly attempting to shift blame for the defects in the Pool\u2019s basin from their own mishandling of the resurfacing project,\u201d they continue. \u201cPlaintiffs must be permitted to obtain their own evidence regarding Defendants\u2019 factual assertions before Defendants permanently alter and spoliate that very evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s plan was clearly to seek forgiveness after the fact, rather than permission in advance as required by statute. It appears to have worked with the East Wing of the White House. But here, its own incompetence may trip it up, since the \u201cdelaminating\u201d Reflecting Pool is clearly a fait un<\/em>-accompli. <\/p>\n

\n

Liz Dye<\/a>\u00a0produces the Law and Chaos\u00a0Substack\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0You can subscribe by clicking the logo:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

\n

\n

The post Litigants Ask To Check Reflecting Pool For \u2018Sabotage\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMake America Green Again. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis\/Getty Images)\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After spending the evening free associating blather about a six-year-old election, the president woke up and started blather about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. <\/p>\n

The universe\u2019s least subtle metaphor is once again revealing its filthy, corrupted interior. The monument was drained again to repair the \u201cAmerican flag blue\u201d lining which started to visibly separate from the basin shortly after Trump\u2019s pool guys rolled it on \u2014 and the hydrogen peroxide they dumped in there to kill the algae bloom didn\u2019t help. Ditto for the presidential motorcade driving over it as the epoxy was curing.<\/p>\n

The president insists the pool was sabotaged by communist wreckers, presumably ninjas with magical powers to evade the observation of the multiple cameras that are trained on the pool at all hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe slashes were 300 yards long, and the floor of the pool was cut and then pulled upward, with great force, by these thugs,\u201d he . \u201cThese Country hating sleazebags should pay a big price for the damage done. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!\u201d<\/p>\n

As of now, the pool is fenced off to the public. An FBI forensic team was on Wednesday trying to gin up evidence to support the president\u2019s claims, but according to an investigative report by the Washington Post, the damage lines up pretty cleanly with seams in the epoxy and extends throughout the center of the pool. <\/p>\n

Damn, those ninjas are tricky!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On July 2, US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro announced that they\u2019d nabbed one of the culprits, David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist \u2014 which is kind of like a ninja! He\u2019s been charged with felony vandalism in DC Superior Court and will certainly seek discovery of the supposed damage he inflicted. But in the meantime there\u2019s a pending civil suit where the plaintiffs are also demanding a better look at the pool.<\/p>\n

Until this week, The Cultural Landscape Foundation\u2019s lawsuit was mostly about paperwork \u2014 specifically, the paperwork the National Park Service didn\u2019t<\/em> do before it tarted up yet another national monument. TCLF sued<\/a> the Department of the Interior in the spring, arguing that NPS blew through the historic-preservation review required before altering a National Register-listed landscape as well as the required environmental review, all so the pool\u2019s grey basin could be turned blue in time for Donald Trump\u2019s July 4th party. The government insists that the $15 million teardown of a century-old waterproofing system was either an emergency repair or a mundane substitution that it is exempt from review. Notably, a sworn declaration<\/a> filed in the case by Frank Lands, NPS\u2019s Deputy Director for Operations, does not repeat Trump\u2019s claims about slashes that were \u201c300 yards long.\u201d Instead, Lands notes that \u201cthe U.S. Park Police responded to an NPS report of damage to the reflecting pool, including a caulk over the foam sealant that was cut with a sharp knife or razor and destruction of delaminating surface material.\u201d<\/p>\n

Was the NPS report accurate? Lands does not say, although he does seem to concede that the liner was already \u201cdelaminating\u201d before any of the saboteurs showed up. But TCLF aims to find <\/a>out<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Citing this \u201cunique but temporary opportunity for Plaintiffs to collect and preserve evidence that may be relevant to this case,\u201d the plaintiff asks Judge Carl Nichols to \u201callow members of Plaintiffs\u2019 counsel team (including any investigators and\/or experts) temporary access to the sidewalk surrounding the Reflecting Pool for the limited purpose of photographing and inspecting the condition of the basin to preserve that evidence for future use in the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

TCLF argues that the government has made representations about the condition of this pool, and once the basin is full of water and algae, whatever\u2019s actually down there is gone. Rule 34 permits a court to order a site inspection, and federal judges in DC grant this kind of request routinely when there\u2019s a real risk evidence might disappear or even be spoliated.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefendants are seemingly attempting to shift blame for the defects in the Pool\u2019s basin from their own mishandling of the resurfacing project,\u201d they continue. \u201cPlaintiffs must be permitted to obtain their own evidence regarding Defendants\u2019 factual assertions before Defendants permanently alter and spoliate that very evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s plan was clearly to seek forgiveness after the fact, rather than permission in advance as required by statute. It appears to have worked with the East Wing of the White House. But here, its own incompetence may trip it up, since the \u201cdelaminating\u201d Reflecting Pool is clearly a fait un<\/em>-accompli. <\/p>\n

\n

Liz Dye<\/a>\u00a0produces the Law and Chaos\u00a0Substack\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0You can subscribe by clicking the logo:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After spending the evening free associating blather about a six-year-old election, the president woke up and started free associating blather about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The universe\u2019s least subtle metaphor is once again revealing its filthy, corrupted interior. The monument was drained again to repair the \u201cAmerican flag blue\u201d lining which started to visibly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":157188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/law-and-chaos-logo-liz-dye-300x153-mjt0Yu.jpg?fit=300%2C153&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}