US Attorney Pirro deflects questions on dropped Lincoln Memorial pool case

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Wednesday declined to answer questions about her decision to drop a criminal case against a former Olympian accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Speaking at an unrelated press conference in Washington, Pirro repeatedly deflected queries about the case, which has drawn sharp criticism from President Trump. When a reporter raised the matter, Pirro responded, "Oh. Why did I know that was coming?" before insisting she would only discuss what she called "one of the biggest problems that American people have right now."

Pirro's office had charged David Hearn with a felony for intentionally damaging the pool. However, the case was dismissed after prosecutors cited evidence suggesting the damage resulted from a botched installation by a contractor and a rushed project timeline.

President Trump has publicly criticized Pirro's handling of the case, saying she "choked" and "folded like an umbrella" in seeking dismissal. He has also claimed that vandals caused most of the damage.

When pressed further about the president's interest in the matter, Pirro said Trump has the right to decide what is important, pointing to his executive order on cryptocurrency fraud as an example of his priorities. She added that the focus should be on that issue, "not on the pool."

The press conference was one of Pirro's first public appearances since the controversial decision.