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Fox News Host Asks Jeanine Pirro If Jonathan Karl Is 'In Trouble' For Touching Reflecting Pool Paint

Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, is backing President Donald Trump's critique of ABC journalist Jonathan Karl amid the ongoing controversy over the renovations to the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool.

In a Friday post on his Truth Social platform, Trump accused Karl ― whom he deemed a "Lightweight ABC Reporter" ― of "sticking his hand into the Pool, and trying to rip the rubber off of the surface."

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His remarks were in response to an ABC News segment in which Karl visited the pool and tugged at a chunk of paint that had come loose to demonstrate how the $14.7 million renovation project, which Trump had declared completed on June 6, was "falling apart before our eyes."

In a Fox News interview that aired Sunday, anchor Peter Doocy asked if Karl could be "in trouble" and face legal consequences for his actions ― and Pirro didn't rule out the possibility.

"It depends," she said. "Anyone who is in position of vandalizing or attempting to vandalize the Reflecting Pool will face the criminal justice system in D.C. Look, the president had made it a priority to make D.C. not only safe, but beautiful, and there are several citations that have been handed out to individuals. And these are cases that will be prosecuted to the full extent."

Watch Jeanine Pirro's comments on the Reflecting Pool below.

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"If there are more serious products that are put into the Reflecting Pool to create more algae or a bigger problem, then we'll consider more serious charges," she continued. "But make no mistake, making D.C. beautiful is a priority. And if you damage, vandalize, or do anything to impact something like the Reflecting Pool, you can be prosecuted."

The Trump administration has been hit with blistering criticism over its renovations to the Reflecting Pool, which is one of several projects the president had spearheaded around the capital timed to the nation's 250th anniversary. Once the pool was refilled after being repainted a color that Trump himself described as "American flag blue," the water quickly turned green amid an algae bloom which the new paint may have exacerbated, according to some experts.

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Last week, the National Park Service was seen deploying hydrogen peroxide ― typically used in spas and natural swimming pools ― into the Reflecting Pool to combat the algae growth. Around the same time, many visitors began taking note of the visibly peeling paint.

Since then, Trump has attempted to deflect much of the Reflecting Pool commentary, arguing on Truth Social that the site has recently faced "real problems with vandalism."

On Sunday, he doubled down on those claims while pledging to "fix" the pool, but offered no details on specifics.

"Work will begin immediately on fixing the seriously vandalized Reflecting Pool," he wrote on Truth Social. "I just inspected it, and could only say to myself, and those gathered around me, WOW, who would do such a thing? SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE!"