Reflecting pool was cut with ‘sharp knife or razor’, National Park Service says

A senior National Park Service (NPS) official has said a liner along the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool was “cut with a sharp knife or razor” earlier this month, repeating Donald Trump’s claims of vandalism. Frank Lands, the deputy director for operations for NPS, made the allegation in a court filing on Wednesday, as part of a lawsuit brought by a nonprofit group seeking to stop the US president’s renovation of the site. In the document, Lands said that on 9 June, after the renovation project of Washington’s reflecting pool was “substantially complete”, US Park Service police responded to an “NPS report of damage to the reflecting pool”. The filing states that the damage includes “a caulk over the foam sealant that was cut with a sharp knife or razor and destruction of delaminating surface material”, with Lands adding that “approximately 70 fence post tops” were also “thrown” into the water. NPS “plans to begin draining the reflecting pool following the Independence Day celebration to conduct repairs, including assessing and repairing any damage to the lining”, Lands said. The statement comes amid controversy surrounding Trump’s $14.2m renovation project of the reflecting pool, which he pitched as a bid to turn it “American flag blue” ahead of the country’s 250th birthday celebrations. …