Furious Trump says Jeanine Pirro 'folded like an umbrella' over Reflecting Pool case

WASHINGTON, DC: Jeanine Pirro, Donald Trump’s handpicked US Attorney for the District of Columbia, faced criticism after her office moved to drop charges in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism cases.

The 75-year-old Fox star broke with the President on Friday, July 31, by submitting a court filing to dismiss vandalism charges against 67-year-old former Olympian David Hearn. Pirro claimed the Interior Department misled her prosecutors by wrongly attributing damage to the pool lining to vandalism, while evidence showed the damage stemmed from "contractor error" and a "botched installation."

Trump says Pirro 'choked' over Reflecting Pool vandalism case

Pirro’s decision to drop the charges did not appear to sit well with President Trump, who grew angry when asked whether he had spoken with Pirro about her decision.

The 80-year-old President was addressing the media in the Oval Office when he lashed out at the DC attorney, saying, “I was disappointed in Jeanine Pirro. Really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. She folded like an umbrella.”

The President said she “choked” and blamed the judge overseeing the case.

“I think she choked, because the judge was really vicious,” he said. “Instead of going after the people who did it, he went after her, and went after her department, and I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened.”

Trump said he believed she had "made a mistake," echoing his initial reaction to the decision, and repeated his claim that "there was vandalism."

According to court filings reviewed by CBS News in DC Superior Court, Pirro’s office had moved to dismiss or announced plans to drop charges against three more people accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool. All three had been facing misdemeanor charges.

Pirro’s Friday filing stated that the damage to the Reflecting Pool lining was caused by "contractor error" and a "botched installation" rather than vandalism.

Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have maintained that the damage was caused by vandalism, rejecting Pirro’s assertion that it resulted from installation issues rather than deliberate acts.

Burgum has joined Trump in criticizing Pirro’s decision to drop charges against Hearn, who had been accused of damaging a two-square-foot section of the Reflecting Pool’s lining.

Trump dismisses reports of Jeanine Pirro being fired

The criticism came amid reports that Trump was privately considering removing Pirro after her office abandoned the high-profile case.

According to CNN, Trump was "furious" over the filing and believed he had not been informed in advance that Pirro’s office planned to reverse course. One senior administration official told the outlet the President felt "blindsided," while another source said Pirro’s job could be at risk as fallout from the decision mounted.

However, the President dismissed the reports when a reporter asked whether he was reconsidering her role, instead saying: “You’re fake news. Don’t ever talk again.”

Pirro met with Trump at the White House on Monday afternoon after the President publicly rebuked her decision.

Two people briefed on the outcome told The New York Times that Trump neither fired Pirro nor received her resignation during the meeting.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum was also at the White House when Pirro arrived. In recent days, Burgum has joined Trump in criticizing her decision to drop charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn.