Trump torn apart for 'mind-blowing hypocrisy' on Reflecting Pool retrial

In the wake of news that President Donald Trump is seeking to reprosecute Olympian David Hearn under charges of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool — allegations Trump’s own administration has debunked – a conservative journalist took to social media to point out the "mind-blown hypocrisy" of the situation.

“I'm sorry, I can't get over this,” wrote Reason reporter Billy Binion. “The most powerful person on earth is using the full force of government to jail a 67-year-old over an error his *own administration* oversaw. It is the epitome of government ‘weaponization.’ Mind-blowing hypocrisy. It's unconscionable.”

Binion made these comments while sharing a Wall Street Journal article that details Trump’s renewed effort to bring charges against Hearn. According to the Journal, “A new prosecution of the defendant, Olympic canoeist David Hearn, would be highly unusual, especially after Pirro told a judge in surprising detail that the government’s decision to indict him on a felony charge was ill-informed. Pirro said a botched renovation, not vandalism, was responsible for the reflecting pool’s problems.”

As the Journal notes, “Trump has repeatedly criticized Pirro since she dropped the case, and in a Friday social-media post said she ‘should revisit her hastily made decision.’ He also posted a photo, captioned ‘Vandalism,’ that he said showed graffiti and damage to the Reflecting Pool. On Sunday, Trump said that ‘a highly credible witness’ saw Hearn ripping and tugging at the pool’s coating.” This is despite the fact that the government’s own witness has already contradicted this assertion.

Per the Journal, “The discussion comes after Todd Blanche spent weeks trying to parry Senate concerns that he was too willing to bend the Justice Department to Trump’s will.” Confirmed over the weekend by a single vote, “Blanche, who was a top Trump defense attorney in private practice, has said it is the president’s right and duty to weigh in on the Justice Department’s criminal investigations. That view is a departure from that of his predecessors, who sought to avoid the appearance of White House interference in the agency’s affairs.”

Hearn co-counsel Norm Eisen said a new prosecution “would mark a shocking first: Bringing back from the dead a case that the DOJ lost by its own admission that it lacked the evidence to convict. This would add another bizarre turn to a sad chapter in the DOJ’s history — and further harass an innocent man.”

Binion agrees, writing, “For years we've heard complaints about how Biden weaponized the government against J6 rioters. Yet many of the high-profile people who've made money off those complaints seem strangely OK with Trump trying to imprison a senior citizen for a PR stunt. Can't reconcile that one.”