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Trump says U.S. attorney ‘choked’ by dropping Reflecting Pool vandal case

Click to play video: 'Trump says Jeanine Pirro ‘folded like an umbrella’ after reflecting pool charges dropped'
Trump says Jeanine Pirro ‘folded like an umbrella’ after reflecting pool charges dropped
WATCH ABOVE: U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro "folded like an umbrella," after the Justice Department determined that a flawed installation, not vandalism, caused the lining of the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., to peel.

U.S. President Donald Trump sharply criticized U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Monday for dropping a case of alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, saying she had “choked” under pressure from a judge and “folded like an umbrella.”

“Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened,” Trump told reporters.

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Pirro’s office said in a court filing on Friday that the damage resulted from shoddy construction, not vandalism, and moved to drop charges against former Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of deliberately damaging the newly renovated pool ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday celebration last month.

Trump claimed surveillance footage showed people cutting newly installed waterproofing material around the pool and argued that Pirro, a close political ally, should have continued pursuing the case.

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“Pirro made a mistake. It was vandalism,” Trump said, adding he was “really disappointed” in Pirro and that “she folded like an umbrella.”

Pirro, a former Fox News host and longtime Trump ally, is the top federal prosecutor in Washington. Trump did not say whether he had spoken directly with her before publicly rebuking her.

He did not answer when asked if he was reconsidering her role.

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