The Justice Department’s internal watchdog has declined to investigate the failed prosecution against former Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of intentionally vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, according to his lawyers.
The Justice Department’s Inspector General told Mr. Hearn’s legal team that it would not probe allegations of professional misconduct, stating it fell outside its jurisdiction and that it lacked authority to do so.
Instead, such an investigation is within the purview of the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, according to a Wednesday letter from Mr. Hearn’s legal team.
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In July, Mr. Hearn was charged with causing felony damage to President Trump’s renovations of the historic Reflecting Pool. The charges were later dropped.
“Given the substantial public attention devoted to this matter, and the significant questions raised concerning the conduct of federal officials, declining independent review would risk undermining public confidence in the Department’s ability to police its own conduct. Such a result would be inconsistent with the purposes for which Congress established the OIG and would be a betrayal of its mission,” the lawyers’ letter said.
They previously asked both the Justice Department and the Department of the Interior’s inspectors general for a probe, citing “numerous potential criminal violations” and “possible crimes.”
They alleged that Trump administration officials engaged in “incompetence and misconduct” — including witness tampering, obstruction of justice and the subornation of false testimony — in a politically motivated rush to indict Mr. Hearn and deflect blame away from a botched, hurried federal renovation project.
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