Lincoln Pool Contractor: We Messed Up

The idea that vandals damaged the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is now being challenged by a hard-to-dispute player in the controversy: the contractor who did the work. Government documents reviewed by the New York Times show that Atlantic Industrial Coatings told the Trump administration that flaws in both the project's design and the work itself caused the new blue liner to blister, peel, and pull away. That is in line with what an outside analysis found as well.

President Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals, even after the Justice Department dropped charges against people accused of damaging the landmark. That group includes a former Olympic canoeist. Among other things, Atlantic cited inadequate application of primer in spots and a repair plan that paired two incompatible chemicals. The no-bid, $14.7 million job had been rushed to finish by July 4, and a redo is currently underway. Asked about the contractor's findings, an Interior Department spokeswoman maintained that vandals "repeatedly reached into the pool and ripped at the coating."