Trump blasts Jeanine Pirro, says she 'choked' in dropping reflecting pool case

US President Donald Trump has criticized U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for dropping a vandalism case at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, accusing her of "choking" under pressure.

President Donald ​Trump sharply criticized U.S. Attorney ​Jeanine Pirro on Monday ‌for dropping ​a case of alleged vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, saying she had "choked" ‌under pressure from a judge and "folded like an umbrella."

"Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went ‌after her department, and I guess she choked. I don't know ‌what the hell happened," Trump told reporters. Pirro's office said in a court filing on Friday that the damage resulted from shoddy construction, not vandalism, and moved to drop ⁠charges ​against former Olympian ⁠David Hearn, who was accused of deliberately damaging the newly renovated pool ahead of the ⁠nation's 250th birthday celebration last month.

Trump claimed surveillance footage showed people cutting newly ​installed waterproofing material around the pool and argued that Pirro, a ⁠close political ally, should have continued pursuing the case. "Pirro made a mistake. It ⁠was ​vandalism," Trump said, adding he was "really disappointed" in Pirro and that "she folded like an umbrella."

Pirro, a former Fox News host and longtime ⁠Trump ally, is the top federal prosecutor in Washington. Trump did not ⁠say whether he had ⁠spoken directly with her before publicly rebuking her. He did not answer when asked if he was ‌reconsidering her role.