Pirro keeps pressure on Fed’s Powell despite dropping probe

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro may have suspended her criminal investigation into outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but she and her office remain at the center of a power struggle over the influential central bank. How he handles a looming objection will help determine the extent of President Donald Trump’s influence on the Fed.

Pirro has until Monday to appeal District of Columbia Chief Judge James Boasberg’s orders quashing his subpoenas to the Fed.

What his office says in the filing will be critical in determining how long Powell stays at the Fed after his presidency ends and therefore whether Trump can appoint a new Fed governor to replace him. It could also determine whether the effective truce between Trump and the Fed will take hold or whether hostilities will resume, potentially roiling markets.

The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment. The Fed declined to comment.

Pirro said on April 24 that he would close the investigation while Fed Superintendent Michael Horowitz reviews renovation costs. But he left himself plenty of room to open the door again.

“I will not hesitate to reopen the criminal investigation if the facts require it.” Pirro he said in an X post.

Trump said shortly thereafter that he thought the investigation was still ongoing. “It didn’t go down,” Trump told reporters on April 25.

The Justice Department traditionally operates independently of the president, but during Trump’s second term it pursued cases of perceived political opponents. Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted for a second time this week after a judge dismissed the earlier charge in November.

Pirro is asking the appeals court to overturn Boasberg’s decision blocking the subpoenas. This is a problem for Powell because it shows Pirro is trying to stall the investigation until he can get Powell out of the way while keeping the threat alive.

Powell and his legal team, who plan to remain a member of the Fed and exercise caution, will monitor the appeal closely. He said he had received assurances from Pirro’s office that “if they appeal the latest court decision, they will not seek to reopen the investigation or issue new subpoenas within the scope of this appeal.”

Pirro said the objection was about fundamental principles. Pirro argues that Boasberg undermined his ability to do extensive research, and not just in this case.

“When a federal judge stands at the door of a grand jury and believes he can prevent a prosecutor from getting in, when the United States Supreme Court has said the prosecutor can get in on suspicion or hearsay, we have to appeal that decision,” Pirro told Fox News on Thursday. he said.

But Pirro has not given up on his claims that there is something fishy about the Fed’s renewals. “You have billions of dollars in cost overruns on a very small project,” he said.

His office has been investigating this question for six months and has offered no evidence of wrongdoing.

Former assistant U.S. attorney Sean P. Murphy said Pirro overstated his objection to the judge’s investigative skills.

“Judge Boasberg isn’t saying you can’t ever serve a subpoena again,” Murphy said. “He says you have to have the facts.”

While Pirro said he was trying to confirm his ability to issue subpoenas, an appeal could have the opposite effect, Murphy said. A higher court might agree with Boasberg and impose sharper limits on what constitutes politically motivated investigations.

Because of this kind of risk, DOJ procedures Appeals must be signed by the attorney general, a senior official who reports directly to the attorney general.

It is unclear how Pirro and senior Justice Department officials coordinated the Powell investigation. The Justice Department did not comment on assurances Powell said he received from Pirro’s office about the status of the investigation.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was asked Sunday if he would commit not to reopen the investigation. He did not answer the question directly but instead referred to Horowitz, the Fed’s inspector general. “If it uncovers evidence of criminal conduct, there is no doubt we will investigate,” Blanche said.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) backed off his pressure on Fed chairman candidate Kevin Warsh because he realized Pirro’s investigation was over. He and Powell say they believe the investigation will be reopened only if Horowitz uncovers new wrongdoing. However, Blanche left open the possibility that the investigation could be reopened even if the result the IG finds does not constitute a crime.

“Depending on what he finds, we’ll go from there,” Blanche said Sunday.