Justice Department inspector general declines to review handing of Reflecting Pool vandalism case

The Department of Justice's inspector general declined to investigate the handling of the criminal case against a former Olympian who was accused of intentionally damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the man's lawyers said in a letter Wednesday. 

Lawyers for David Hearn, who was cleared of the allegations of vandalism, had accused the Justice Department of professional misconduct, but the inspector general told them that these allegations against the department fall outside its jurisdiction, the Associated Press reported. 

Instead, they fall under the jurisdiction of the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, the lawyers wrote in their letter, which urges Inspector General Don R. Berthiaume to reconsider the decision. 

“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,” the letter warns. 

The Justice Department motioned to dismiss the case against Hearn last summer, saying new evidence from the Interior Department showed that Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was not responsible for damage to the pool’s lining. A District of Columbia judge later tossed out the prosecution.