David Hearn’s lawyers asked a court on Monday to order the government to turn over the full grand jury transcript in the case accusing him of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a move that goes straight at how the felony indictment was obtained. They also want the legal instructions prosecutors gave grand jurors on the elements of the alleged offense.
The filing matters now because Hearn has already pleaded not guilty earlier this month to one felony count of property destruction in D.C. Superior Court, and his trial is set for Sept. 28. If the defense is right about irregularities in the grand jury proceedings, the government may have to defend the evidence and the legal framework that led to the charge rather than just the damage allegation itself.
Hearn is accused of causing at least $1,000 in damage to the Reflecting Pool, but his lawyers say the government has not shown that the number comes from anything he did. In their filing, they said a National Park Service official testified that the pool was already damaged before Hearn allegedly touched it, and that the official could not quantify any damage attributable to him. They said the same repairs would have been needed anyway.
The defense goes further. Hearn’s lawyers wrote that the pool had substantial preexisting damage requiring repair before any alleged conduct by Mr. Hearn, saying it was leaking more than one million gallons of water per week, that its expansion joints had exceeded their service life and that the liner already contained a rip. That leaves a central gap in the government’s case: even if prosecutors prove something happened at the pool, it is not yet clear how much, if any, of the alleged $1,000 in damage can be tied directly to Hearn.
The request also builds on a broader fight over the case. Hearn previously asked the court to dismiss it, and he has said he was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after stopping by the pool during a bike ride on June 19. He said he reached in to examine the pool’s newly drained water. The case stems from a troubled multimillion-dollar renovation project championed by President Donald Trump, and Trump said Monday at General Motors in Michigan that a person cut the liner in the pool.
For now, the next major step is procedural, not factual. Hearn’s lawyers want the grand jury materials before trial, and if the court orders disclosure, it could reveal what evidence the grand jurors actually heard, how the legal instructions were framed and whether the prosecution’s damage theory can survive scrutiny before Sept. 28.
