Fact Check: Did Trump fire Jeanine Pirro after blasting her over the Reflecting Pool case?

WASHINGTON, DC: As tensions between President Donald Trump and US Attorney Jeanine Pirro escalated over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool case, social media users began speculating that Trump had fired her. The rumor gained traction after Trump publicly accused Pirro of having "choked" over the high-profile vandalism case. Let's fact-check the claim.

Claim: Trump fired Jeanine Pirro over the Reflecting Pool case

The rumor that President Donald Trump fired Jeanine Pirro began circulating after a video of her leaving the White House with a briefcase and a white box went viral on X. 

Users claimed the footage was recorded after Pirro's August 3 meeting with Trump, which came amid his public criticism of her office's decision to drop the Reflecting Pool vandalism case after prosecutors concluded that flawed renovations, rather than intentional damage, had caused the deterioration.

The roughly 11.5-second clip, filmed from outside the White House grounds behind a black iron fence, shows Pirro wearing a bright red blazer and dark pants as she walks out carrying a white rectangular box in one hand and a dark handbag or briefcase in the other.

The X post captioned the video, "Jeanine Pirro was just spotted leaving the WH with a briefcase and white box. Looks like she may have just been fired for not lying enough," fueling speculation that Trump had dismissed her from her position.

Fact Check: False, news reports confirmed otherwise

However, the claim is false. President Donald Trump did not fire US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro after publicly criticizing her handling of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool case.

News reports confirmed that Pirro neither resigned nor was dismissed following her August 3 meeting with Trump, despite his frustration over her office's decision to drop the case.

Trump spent the weekend expressing anger over the decision, with one source saying he had been "furious" with Pirro before voicing those frustrations publicly. Speaking to reporters at an unrelated event, Trump said, "I was disappointed in Jeanine Pirro. Really disappointed in Jeanine Pirro. She folded like an umbrella."

Later that day, Trump met with Pirro and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum at the White House, a person familiar with the meeting said.

Several other officials also attended the meeting. Despite online speculation that Pirro had been fired, no credible reports indicated that Trump removed her from her position during or after the meeting.

The Reflecting Pool case has also created tensions between two Trump appointees. In a court filing submitted last week, Pirro's office blamed other federal agencies, including the Interior Department, for failing to provide key information about the flawed renovation project.

Burgum, meanwhile, has continued to support Trump's claims that the damage resulted from vandalism, placing the two officials at odds over the handling of the case.