Pirro’s Defiant Streak on Display in Case Against Fed’s Powell

The top federal prosecutor in Washington, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, is showing a relentless determination to pursue an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, even if it threatens to delay the president’s push to replace him.

Jeanine Pirro’s combative style — a feature of her previous job as a Fox News personality — was on full display Friday during a hastily called press conference. Pirro lambasted a judge’s decision to block subpoenas she had issued in connection with her investigation into renovations of the Fed’s headquarters and Powell’s comments about the project.

Jeanine Pirro on Feb. 6.

Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg

Pirro, a former New York county prosecutor and state court judge, vowed to appeal the ruling by US District Judge James Boasberg even though a prolonged legal battle threatens to delay confirmation of Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick to replace Powell as head of the central bank.

“I don’t even know who he is,” Pirro said when asked about Warsh during the press conference.

Pirro went a step further, pledging to file a separate challenge to the judge’s ruling based on technical grounds.

GOP Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who sits on the committee charged with vetting Fed nominees, has pledged to block Warsh’s confirmation until the probe, which he believes is politically motivated, is resolved.

“This ruling confirms just how weak and frivolous the criminal investigation of Chairman Powell is and it is nothing more than a failed attack on Fed independence,” Tillis said Friday in a post on social media. “Appealing the ruling will only delay the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair.”

Boasberg said in his opinion, which was dated March 11 and made public March 13, the subpoenas reflected an “improper motive” of retaliation against Powell over policy differences.

The rejection of the subpoenas was the latest of several defeats that Pirro has suffered since Trump appointed her as US attorney for the District of Columbia last year.

Jerome Powell

Photographer: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg

Her office previously failed to convince a grand jury to indict lawmakers over a video they made advising US military personnel that they don’t have to follow illegal orders. Prosecutors she manages also failed to secure an indictment against a man who threw a sandwich at a federal agent during an immigration crackdown in the nation’s capital.

In the Powell case, Pirro didn’t consult with or even notify Justice Department leaders that she was going to issue the subpoenas, even though it was a sensitive case with the potential to be politically explosive.

Read More: Jeanine Pirro Is Going After Powell, Heedless of Backlash

According to Powell, the DOJ threatened a criminal indictment related to the Fed’s ongoing $2.5 billion renovation of its headquarters and testimony he provided about the project.

Pirro has shown no signs of relenting and berated reporters during the press conference who asked if she would take into consideration the political impact that her actions are having. She said she is focused on staying in her legal lane and called everything else “white noise.”

Pirro also attacked Judge Boasberg, saying “today, however, in Washington, an activist judge has taken that tool away from us by inserting himself and preventing the grand jury from even obtaining, let alone hearing evidence.” She said the judge “neutered the grand jury’s ability to investigate crime.”

Pirro has a background both in law enforcement and media. She served as an assistant district attorney for Westchester County in New York in 1975. She was elected as a judge for the county in 1990 and then was elected as Westchester County District Attorney in 1993.

But she rose to national prominence as host of Justice With Judge Jeanine on Fox News starting in 2011 and became a co-host of The Five in 2022.

“Ladies and gentlemen, no one is above the law,” Pirro said defiantly during the press conference.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Strohm in Washington at cstrohm1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Steve Stroth

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