President Donald Trump wasn’t imagining it after all.
After days of media ridicule and accusations that the administration was trying to blame construction failures for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s problems, a senior National Park Service official has now sworn under oath that someone cut the pool’s liner with a “sharp knife or razor.”
The explosive court filing appears to validate Trump’s repeated claims that the newly renovated Reflecting Pool was deliberately sabotaged by vandals—not simply falling apart because of faulty workmanship, as many critics insisted.
According to National Park Service Deputy Director Frank Lands, the agency reported the damage to U.S. Park Police on June 9, shortly after the $16 million rehabilitation project was substantially completed.
“The caulk over the foam sealant was cut with a sharp knife or razor,” Lands declared in the filing, adding that roughly 70 fence-post tops were also thrown into the Reflecting Pool.
That’s a far cry from the “there’s no evidence” narrative many outlets pushed when Trump first warned that vandals had attacked the iconic landmark.
Trump Took Heat — Now Comes the Evidence
Earlier this week, Trump told reporters he had personally seen what he described as a massive cut through the pool’s protective surface and promised Americans the evidence would eventually emerge in court.
It just did.
The White House blasted what it called “Fake News hacks” and self-described experts for rushing to dismiss the president’s claims while ignoring an active federal investigation.
According to the administration, surveillance footage captured suspects damaging the site, police documented slashes through the pool liner and protective coating, and multiple suspects have already been arrested or cited.
The White House says:
- Seven people have been arrested.
- Seven others received federal citations.
- Eighteen police reports have been filed.
- Surveillance video allegedly captured suspects damaging the pool.
Those figures are higher than earlier public numbers released by Park Police as the investigation has continued.
Not All Questions Are Settled
The new filing confirms that portions of the liner and sealant were intentionally cut—but it does not establish that those cuts caused all of the renovation’s highly publicized problems, including peeling coating or the massive algae bloom that turned the pool green just days after reopening.
Some engineering documents previously reported by major news outlets suggested the cuts discovered in expansion joints may not fully explain the widespread coating failure, meaning investigators are still sorting out exactly what damage was caused by vandalism versus what may have resulted from construction or environmental factors.
Still, Thursday’s filing marks the first sworn government statement confirming deliberate damage with a blade.
A Symbolic Target
The Reflecting Pool has become one of the Trump administration’s signature beautification projects ahead of America’s 250th birthday celebration next year.
The renovation included draining the century-old pool, applying a new waterproof coating, repainting the basin in what Trump called an “American flag blue,” and installing advanced water-treatment systems designed to eliminate algae.
When the project quickly ran into trouble, critics mocked it as an embarrassing failure.
The White House argues those critics ignored what investigators were finding.
“Crazed and deranged lunatics have once again exposed their hatred for America with a cowardly, deliberate attack on one of our nation’s most iconic landmarks,” the administration declared Thursday.
Officials say advanced nanobubble ozone technology has already neutralized much of the algae while crews prepare permanent repairs after the Independence Day celebrations.
