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Justice Department drops criminal case against Olympian over damaged Reflecting Pool
How this story is being covered
Extra Extra has grouped 22 reports on this story from 22 news outlets across the political spectrum. By political lean, that breaks down as 13 left-leaning, 4 center, and 5 right-leaning sources.
With a coverage-diversity score of 87 out of 100, this is one of the more evenly reported stories in our index right now — left, center, and right outlets are all giving it attention.
On reliability, 14 of the 22 rated outlets carry a high or mostly-factual reliability rating (A or B) and 8 outlets fall into our mixed or lower-reliability tier (C or D). Ratings are drawn from independent assessments and are meant to help you weigh each report, not to tell you which to trust.
Coverage of this story has developed over roughly 18 hours, so the perspectives below capture how the framing shifted as the story matured.
Below, the same story is laid out side by side as left, center, and right outlets reported it. Read across the columns and watch what changes: the headline emphasis, which facts lead, the adjectives, and what each side leaves out. The story itself rarely changes — the framing almost always does.
Outlets covering this story: HuffPost, NBC News, MSNBC, Missouri Independent, Louisiana Illuminator, Iowa Capital Dispatch, Kansas Reflector, Michigan Advance, Nebraska Examiner, Salon, The Atlantic, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Beast, PBS NewsHour, Sky News, Straight Arrow News, UPI, The Detroit News, The New York Sun, Just the News, Hot Air, PJ Media.
Left(13)
HuffPostCJul 31, 10:23 PM
Justice Department Moves To Drop Case Against Ex-Olympian Charged With Damaging Reflecting Pool
Damage to the pool was actually the result of a “flawed installation by the contractor,” Justice Department lawyers said.
NBC NewsBJul 31, 9:55 PM
DOJ drops Reflecting Pool case, blaming damage on ‘botched’ installation
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has dropped its case against a former Olympic canoeist charged in connection with damage to the Reflecting Pool, acknowledging their allegations against David “Da
MSNBCCAug 1, 12:11 AM
DOJ moves to drop Reflecting Pool case against former Olympian
The Justice Department moved to dismiss charges against David Hearn, concluding that the pool on the National Mall was damaged by a “botched” installation. The post DOJ moves to drop Reflecting Pool c
Missouri IndependentBAug 1, 1:02 AM
Prosecutors drop vandalism charges for Reflecting Pool damage, blame ‘contractor error’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro moved Friday to dismiss charges against a former Olympian canoeist alleged to have damaged part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting
Louisiana IlluminatorBJul 31, 11:30 PM
Prosecutors drop vandalism charges for Reflecting Pool damage, blame ‘contractor error’
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said her office wouldn’t have sought charges if the Interior Department, which manages the Lincoln Memorial, had initially shared more information about repair work on the
Iowa Capital DispatchBJul 31, 11:30 PM
Prosecutors drop vandalism charges for Reflecting Pool damage, blame ‘contractor error’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro moved Friday to dismiss charges against a former Olympian canoeist alleged to have damaged part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting
Kansas ReflectorBJul 31, 11:26 PM
Prosecutors drop vandalism charges for Reflecting Pool damage, blame ‘contractor error’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro moved Friday to dismiss charges against a former Olympian canoeist alleged to have damaged part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting
Michigan AdvanceBJul 31, 11:18 PM
Prosecutors drop vandalism charges for Reflecting Pool damage, blame ‘contractor error’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro moved Friday to dismiss charges against a former Olympian canoeist alleged to have damaged part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting
Nebraska ExaminerBJul 31, 11:13 PM
Prosecutors drop vandalism charges for Reflecting Pool damage, blame ‘contractor error’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro moved Friday to dismiss charges against a former Olympian canoeist alleged to have damaged part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting
SalonCAug 1, 3:29 PM
DOJ reverses charges in Reflecting Pool vandalism case
Federal prosecutors say rushed contractor work, not vandalism, caused damage leading to charges against an Olympian
The AtlanticAAug 1, 1:15 AM
How the Reflecting Pool Vandalism Case Fell Apart
Federal prosecutors searched for evidence and found that “a botched installation” was to blame.
Crooks and LiarsCAug 1, 1:29 PM
Jeanine Pirro Drops Reflecting Pool Case, Now Blames The Contractor
Donald J. Trump's top federal prosecutor in D.C. has pulled the plug on the criminal case against David Hearn, the 67-year-old former Olympic canoeist accused of vandalizing the newly renovated Lincol
The Daily BeastCAug 1, 8:50 AM
Trump’s Reflecting Pool Lies Exposed in Humiliating Admission
The “radical vandals” President Donald Trump blamed for ruining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have turned out not to be the culprits after all. The president repeatedly accused unknown “thugs”
Center(4)
PBS NewsHourAJul 31, 10:43 PM
Justice Department drops criminal case against Olympian over damaged Reflecting Pool
Government lawyers said in a 20-page court filing that information provided since the indictment of David Hearn shows that the damage was the result of a "flawed installation by the contractor" as wel
Sky NewsAAug 1, 2:24 AM
Charges dropped against Olympian accused of damaging Trump's pool
Prosecutors in the US have dropped the case against a former Olympian accused of vandalising the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington.
Straight Arrow NewsBAug 1, 4:13 PM
DOJ moves to drop case against Hearn, says damage to reflecting pool from ‘flawed installation’
The DOJ moved to drop a vandalism case against David Hearn, saying damage to the Reflecting Pool was due to a flawed installation.
UPIBAug 1, 2:40 AM
Prosecutors admit 'botched installation' damaged D.C. reflecting pool
Trump administration prosecutors admitted Friday that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was due to a "botched installation."
Right(5)
The Detroit NewsBAug 1, 1:11 AM
US Justice Department says 'flawed' work led to Reflecting Pool peeling - The Detroit News
US Justice Department says 'flawed' work led to Reflecting Pool peeling The Detroit News
The New York SunAAug 1, 1:27 PM
Another Pirro Loss: DOJ Drops Case Against Olympic Canoeist, Admitting Reflecting Pool Renovation Was ‘Hasty and Botched’ - The New York Sun
Another Pirro Loss: DOJ Drops Case Against Olympic Canoeist, Admitting Reflecting Pool Renovation Was ‘Hasty and Botched’ The New York Sun
Just the NewsCAug 1, 12:00 AM
Trump says he disagrees with Pirro on Reflecting Pool controversy: ‘Pure case of vandalism’
"I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking?" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Hot AirCAug 1, 1:00 AM
A Reflecting Pool Postscript
PJ MediaDAug 1, 2:08 AM
The Reflecting Pool Case Sank Under the Weight of Its Own Facts
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