USA12 August, 20262 min read
Jeanine Pirro Convenes Special Grand Jury in Washington Amid Clash With Donald Trump
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Jeanine Pirro convened a special grand jury in Washington, D.C., amid clash with President Trump. The panel is rare and can issue reports regardless of conventional evidence thresholds.
Pirro convenes special panel
The Justice Department has convened a special grand jury in Washington, a rare legal body that officials say could pave the way for federal prosecutors in the nation’s capital to investigate some of its biggest and most controversial cases.
The special grand jury was convened by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro amid a clash with President Donald Trump, according to a report cited by The Washington Post.
Steven Vandervelden, one of Pirro’s top allies in her office, is overseeing the special grand jury, three anonymous government officials told The Washington Post.
The reporting also says the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. declined The Post's request to comment, and it was not yet known what the special grand jury will be investigating.
Pressure, targets, and standards
The Daily Beast frames the move as a response to pressure from the White House, saying Pirro deployed a rare and aggressive legal weapon amid intense pressure to lock up the president’s political enemies. The Washington Post reporting described how prosecutors submitted the paperwork for the special grand jury before Pirro dropped the Reflecting Pool-related charges, after a D.C. judge granted the Justice Department's request to dismiss the Reflecting Pool vandalism charge against former Olympian David Hearn.
The National News Desk account says the special grand jury can release a potentially critical report about the subject of an investigation if there is a “preponderance of evidence” of wrongdoing, regardless of whether there is enough evidence to bring the person to trial. The Daily Beast also quotes Trump’s reaction to Pirro’s decision, writing that Trump said Monday in the Oval Office, “She choked,” when asked about Pirro.
What comes next
The National News Desk report says special grand juries typically investigate government officials or broad conspiracy cases and organized criminal activity, and it adds that the legal body generally runs for 18 months but can finish sooner or be extended in six-month increments by a judge. It also states that in a special grand jury, its 23 members focus on a single case or a string of cases that prosecutors present as related, rather than handling a variety of matters like most grand juries.
The Washington Post reporting says the special grand jury allows anyone named in a report to testify and present witnesses for their defense, and it notes that prosecutors must convince a simple majority to win an indictment by showing that there is “probable cause.” The Daily Beast adds that the special panel is positioned as a workaround because it can publish damning reports exposing subjects even if prosecutors lack the evidence to secure an indictment.