Former Olympian in Reflecting Pool vandalism case claims 'irregularities' in grand jury proceedings

David Hearn, a former Olympian who is charged with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, is asking the court to grant his defense team access to the closed-door testimony that led to his indictment, claiming there are "irregularities" in the grand jury proceedings. 

In a court filing on Monday, Hearn's attorneys requested an order for the government to turn over a complete transcript of the proceedings, the Associated Press reported. They are also asking prosecutors to disclose the legal instructions given to the grand jurors about the crime Hearn is alleged to have committed. 

His lawyers claim that prosecutors provided the grand jury with inadequate evidence to support the amount of damage alleged in Hearn's indictment. They also stated that a National Park Service official testified that the pool was already damaged before Hearn touched it and couldn't attribute any damage to Hearn. The official also said repairs would have been required despite any actions Hearn took, according to his lawyers. 

Hearn is one of seven people who face charges in what President Donald Trump has said were efforts to sabotage the renovation project, one of several projects the president has initiated as part of a plan to beautify the nation's capital. Hearn has pleaded not guilty to a charge of destruction of property, the only felony charge among the seven suspects. 

D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd E. Eldelmann set the trial to begin on Sept. 28.