Interior releases surveillance footage
The Interior Department released surveillance video Tuesday that it says shows two people damaging the lining of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and trying to remove part of it. The footage, which the department says was recorded on June 19, appears to show a man and a woman leaning deep into the pool and pulling at the material along the bottom. In Washington, even a repair project can turn into a full-scale argument once cameras, press releases, and a few people with a social media account get involved.
Officials say the case is a federal crime
Interior said destroying, injuring, defacing, or removing cultural or archeological resources is a federal crime, and it said the investigation is still open. The department also said several arrests were made over the weekend. Officials have started putting up a fence around the Reflecting Pool, and Trump said repairs are expected to begin soon. The dispute also comes after graffiti reading “86 47” appeared on the grass of the National Mall and on the bottom of the pool, which only adds another layer of bad judgment to a site that already had enough paperwork.
The media fight grew right along with the damage
The story widened after ABC’s Jonathan Karl posted video that tried to treat the pool’s condition like routine maintenance and joked about the blue sealant at the bottom turning green in the water. Trump called Karl a lightweight and later said ABC could face a lawsuit for false reporting. That is a very modern Washington arrangement: one side reaches for a camera angle, the other reaches for a lawyer, and the public gets to watch the whole thing unfold around a national landmark that still needs to be fixed.
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