Trump says Reflecting Pool vandalism proof will come in court

President Trump said Monday that proof of his claim that vandals cut a massive slit in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool will be presented in court, as questions continue over peeling paint and algae that appeared weeks after a $14.7 million renovation of the landmark pool.

Trump has blamed “vandals,” not the contractor or workmanship, for problems with the recently renovated pool between the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. He said five people have been arrested in connection with vandalism related to the Reflecting Pool and five additional people have received federal citations, according to U.S. Park Police figures reported by CBS News.

Neither the National Park Service nor Atlantic Industrial Coatings, the company behind the sealant work, has said a cut slit caused the peeling. CBS News said it contacted the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior but had not received a response. The Guardian reported that the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior and U.S. Park Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Asked by CBS News senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe whether he had proof, such as photos or video, that someone used a knife to cut the pool, Trump pointed to the size of the alleged damage.

“Well, let’s put it this way, when you have a 350, I think it’s 350, not 250, when you have a 350-foot slit, from one end to the other, you think that’s proof? You think that’s proof?” Trump said.

O’Keefe noted that reporters had visited the site and found no evidence of a slit. The Washington Post, cited by The Guardian, also reported that reporters who visited the pool Sunday saw no evidence of such damage.

“Well, you’d have to go see the Parks Department. They’ll show it to you, or see, see the secretary, but I saw it,” Trump said, apparently referring to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “They cut it, they cut it very violently. The same thing with the floor, they cut it, and then they lifted it. They pulled it, and that’s what it is.”

Trump added, “We also have pictures.” When asked for evidence, he said, “Yeah, at the right time you’ll see it. You’ll see it in court. You’ll see it in court, but all you have to do is call the Parks Department, call the Department of Interior.”

The president also suggested, without providing evidence, that someone may have put fertilizer into the water to cause algae growth. “If you put fertilizer in the water, you get algae, but somebody said they might have put fertilizer, they did something to create the algae,” he said.

The renovation was intended to turn the monument pool “American flag blue” ahead of the country’s 250th birthday, The Guardian reported. The bottom was painted a dark navy shade officially called “Old Glory Blue.” Trump awarded a no-bid contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which The Guardian said he described as a company that had previously worked on swimming pools at one of his golf clubs.

Within days of the project’s completion, the water began turning green from algae, and the coating applied during the renovation began to detach, The Guardian reported.

Atlantic Industrial Coatings told CBS News that “some areas” of the project “require repairs.”

“These areas are a very small part of the massive 7-acre project, and do not indicate a failure of the liner,” the company said. “These repairs can not be made until the pool is drained. As soon as it’s feasible for the park, the pool will be drained and AIC will be back to make those needed repairs as part of the warranty.”

The pool is expected to be drained again, though the timing is unclear. A DC Water Authority spokesperson told The Guardian the agency issued the National Park Service a temporary permit to discharge water into a sewer flowing to a local treatment facility. The permit was issued June 16 and expires July 2.

Trump said Monday the damage was limited but repairs would likely require draining the pool. “It’s not a lot of damage, but we’ll probably have to let the water out and refix it. They went in there with a knife,” he told reporters, according to The Guardian.

Trump also posted on social media that “there is a 10-year prison sentence for the destruction, or even the attempted destruction, of such things – Which will be fully enforced!” Destruction of federal property can carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.