Jeanine Pirro convenes special grand jury in DC amid clash with Trump: report

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has convened a special grand jury in Washington, D.C., amid a clash with President Donald Trump, according to a report. A special grand jury is a rare legal body that 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. 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. He investigated then-Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and allegations that the Metropolitan Police Department purposely skewed its crime statistics. It is not yet known what the special grand jury will be investigating. Special grand juries typically investigate government officials or broad conspiracy cases and organized criminal activity. The U.S. attorney's office in D.C. declined the Post's request to comment. The special grand jury has reportedly been convened as Trump has pressured Pirro to deliver on cases he wants prosecuted. Since Pirro has been in office, she has failed to successfully prosecute a man who allegedly threw a Subway sandwich at a federal agent; six Democratic lawmakers who released a video advising military members to reject illegal orders; and Powell, whom Trump claimed had mishandled a Federal Reserve renovation project. On Thursday, a D.C. judge granted the Justice Department's request to dismiss the Reflecting Pool vandalism charge against former Olympian David Hearn. Trump criticized Pirro's decision to ask for the judge to dismiss the case, saying last week, "I think she choked because the judge was really vicious. Because instead of going after the people who did it, the judge went after her. And went after her department, and I guess she choked." The president also told reporters when asked if Pirro would keep her job, "I haven't made a determination," the Daily Beast reported. The officials told the Post that prosecutors submitted the paperwork for the special grand jury before Pirro dropped the Reflecting Pool-related charges. 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 special grand jury allows anyone named in a report to testify and present witnesses for their defense. The legal body generally runs for 18 months but can finish its work sooner or be extended in six-month increments by a judge, as long as it does not exceed 36 months. Like typical grand juries, prosecutors must convince a simple majority of the special grand jury to win an indictment by showing that there is "probable cause" to believe a crime was committed.