Overview
- The felony indictment against former Olympian David Carter Hearn was dismissed on Aug. 6 after prosecutors said newly produced Interior and National Park Service records weakened their vandalism theory.
- A June 11 NPS engineer email showed that peeled polyurea at the pool edge was likely contractor 'overspray' and that the thin material did not float and could be vacuumed out, a detail prosecutors say they received only after the grand jury indicted.
- U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro asked the court to dismiss without prejudice, arguing late disclosure of contractor reports and forensic surveys showing blistering and delamination would 'sabotage' the government's ability to meet its burden of proof.
- Hearn’s lawyers have asked for dismissal with prejudice, saying the prosecution was politically driven and pointing to reported White House requests for further charges as evidence of targeted harassment.
- A Sept. 4 hearing will decide whether prosecutors can refile charges, and the case has shifted scrutiny to a fast‑tracked, largely no‑bid $14–16 million renovation by Atlantic Industrial Coatings and possible procurement and preservation oversight actions.