Overview
- U.S. prosecutors filed to dismiss the felony indictment against former Olympian David Hearn on Friday after concluding newly produced Interior Department documents and forensic inspection undermined the vandalism theory.
- The court filing says contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings performed a rushed installation that produced peeling, delamination and leaks, with engineers citing over‑spray, adhesion failures, buried circulation piping and a darker polyurea liner as contributors to the problems.
- Hearn was detained on June 19, indicted on July 2 and pleaded not guilty with a trial set for late September after prosecutors initially relied on limited Park Police and DOI reports to charge him.
- President Trump publicly rejected the dismissal and accused vandals of causing damage while prosecutors blamed incomplete DOI disclosures and Hearn’s lawyers demanded an apology for what they call an improper prosecution.
- The drained pool remains under warranty repairs and detailed forensic review and the episode has triggered preservation lawsuits and congressional inquiries into procurement, no‑bid awards worth roughly $14–16 million, and interagency information sharing.