Lawyers for Olympic canoeist David Hearn have formally requested that internal watchdogs at the Justice and Interior departments investigate the circumstances surrounding his wrongful arrest, indictment, and the eventual dismissal of his case. Hearn was previously falsely accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and faced a felony destruction of government property charge. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, later moved to dismiss the case after uncovering that the damage stemmed from a contractor’s faulty installation rather than vandalism. In a letter sent Tuesday to DOJ Inspector General Don Berthiaume and DOI Inspector General Caryl Brzymialkiewicz, Hearn’s legal team argued that government employees subjected him to indefensible treatment. They stated that Hearn lost his liberty, faced up to ten years in prison, and suffered reputational damage due to high-ranking officials including Pirro, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and President Trump. Hearn was initially detained for five hours on June 19 following a bike ride during which he touched a loose piece of the Reflecting Pool liner. His attorneys noted he was never read his Miranda rights or allowed a phone call during detention. A grand jury subsequently indicted him on a felony count on July 2. Prosecutors later moved to dismiss the charges after discovering the Interior Department delayed sharing materials that undermined the case. A Superior Court judge officially dismissed the case with prejudice on October 1, preventing any future prosecution and warning against politically motivated charges. The letter to the inspectors general also alleges prosecutorial misconduct, claiming that Pirro improperly interrogated a defense expert witness in the field without notifying counsel and violated professional rules by publicly discussing the case and opining on Hearn’s guilt.
Source: cbsnews.com
