1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

The National Mall's Reflecting Pool is an embarrassment — green with algae, paint peeling off the new lining and floating in the water — and I want you to demand a full investigation into how this happened and push to drop the absurd charges against the 67-year-old man arrested for touching a piece of peeling paint. The restoration contract was awarded without competitive bidding to a Trump donor who apparently had no relevant expertise in water management. The result is visible to every tourist who walks past the Lincoln Memorial. Now, rather than answer for that failure, officials are blaming vandals. No vandal turns 6.5 million gallons of water into algae soup. No vandal peels fresh paint off a pool bottom. The administration owes the public actual evidence and science to support that claim, not a scapegoat in handcuffs. This is public money, a public landmark, and a public disgrace. Congress has oversight authority here. Use it.