US Attorney Makes Rare Move By Convening Special Grand Jury in Washington

D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has taken the rare step of convening a ‘special’ grand jury in Washington, according to the Washington Post.

It will be overseen by Steven Vandervelden, a key Pirro lieutenant, the Post said. Vandervelden has run some of the office’s most contentious investigations – including the failed probe of then-Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and an inquiry into whether D.C. police tampered with their own crime statistics.

Unlike a regular grand jury, a special grand jury can issue a potentially scathing report on the target of an investigation even when prosecutors ultimately decide there isn’t enough evidence to bring charges.

“They are very unusual,” said Niki Kuckes, a professor at Roger Williams University. “Sometimes they can issue a report, which a regular grand jury can’t do.”

“It’s a very protective scheme. A majority of the grand jurors have to decide to issue the report,” Kuckes added. “And a special grand jury has to be set up to investigate some criminal wrongdoing. You can’t just have one to issue a report.”

The Post notes:

A special grand jury has several unique characteristics. The 23 members focus only on a single case – or a string of cases that prosecutors present as related – instead of juggling a variety of matters like most grand juries. And a special grand jury’s ability to issue a report at the end of an investigation sets it apart.

That report can name specific individuals even if prosecutors do not find enough evidence to bring the people to trial, as long as the report shows that there is a “preponderance of evidence” of wrongdoing. That is a significantly lower standard than the “guilt beyond a reasonable doubt” that is needed to convict someone.

What this one is investigating is not known. Legal experts told the Post there is no known recent precedent for a special grand jury in Washington; they are typically reserved for large jurisdictions where organized crime is presumed, or for major matters like Georgia’s 2020 election interference case and the federal Enron probe.

The disclosure lands in the middle of an open feud between Pirro and the president who appointed her.

On July 31, Pirro’s office moved to drop felony vandalism charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, one of four defendants accused in connection with damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Her filing directly contradicted Trump’s repeated claim that the pool was vandalized, concluding the damage resulted from a botched installation rushed to completion ahead of the America 250 celebrations. Pirro said her prosecutors had been misled by the Interior Department.

Trump unloaded from the Oval Office on Aug. 3. “The judge was extremely unfriendly to Jeanine, and frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious,” he told reporters. “And I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened.” Minutes later he added that Pirro had “folded like an umbrella.”

Judge Todd Edelman formally dismissed the case on Aug. 6. The following day, Trump demanded Pirro “revisit her hastily made decision,” posting photos he said showed knife cuts in the pool’s liner.

Asked whether Pirro would keep her job, Trump said he had not “made a determination yet.”