Pirro Convenes Rare ‘Special Grand Jury,’ Raising Prospect of Major Prosecution — Possibly Against Jack Smith

The convening by the United States attorney for the District of Columbia, Judge Jeanine Pirro, of a rare “special grand jury” suggests that a new prosecutorial push could be afoot by the embattled prosecutor — possibly against Special Counsel Jack Smith.A special grand jury, unlike a regular grand jury, can issue a report of its findings even if it declines to hand up charges. Special grand juries are usually convened to investigate government officials or probe conspiracy cases and organized criminal activity. While an ordinary grand jury hears a range of cases, special grand juries confine themselves to one case or a network of interconnected cases.The grand jury, the Washington Post reports, will be handled by one of Judge Pirro’s top deputies, Steven Vandervelden. He previously handled the criminal probe into the erstwhile chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, an investigation that did not lead to criminal charges. Mr. Vandervelden also led the investigation into whether the District of Columbia police manipulated crime statistics by misclassifying offenses. No charges were filed.Special grand juries are more commonplace in large states. Department of Justice regulations mandate that the “district court in every judicial district having more than four million inhabitants must impanel a special grand jury at least once every eighteen months.” The District of Columbia has only about 700,000 inhabitants. Special grand juries are commanded “to inquire into offenses against the criminal laws of the United States alleged to have been committed within that district.”A special grand jury, the Justice Department explains, operates in a similar manner to a regular grand jury except that it is authorized “by a majority vote of its members, to submit to the district court, potentially for public release, a grand jury report”— even in the absence of charges. The regulations mandate that a special grand jury must not be convened for the sole purpose of generating a report. Reports involving “public officials must connect ‘misconduct,’ ‘malfeasance,’ or ‘misfeasance’ with ‘organized criminal activity.’”The Constitution’s Fifth Amendment ordains that “no person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury.” Grand juries regularly return indictments in more than 90 percent of cases, largely because defense counsel does not participate in the process and the standard for indicting is “probable cause,” a lower bar for the state to clear than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” required for convictions. Everyone in a grand jury proceeding, save witnesses, is sworn to secrecy. In 2023 a special grand jury convened at Fulton County, Georgia, by District Attorney Fani Willis indicted Mr. Trump and 18 others as part of a complex racketeering case that alleged a criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, which was won by President Biden. That sprawling case eventually collapsed when it was disclosed that Ms. Willis was conducting a secret romantic affair with her handpicked special prosecutor, Nathan Wade. Despite the case never reaching trial, the special grand jury issued a report wherein it recommended charging 39 defendants — including Senator Lindsey Graham.One possible target of Judge Pirro’s grand jury is Mr. Smith, who earlier this month was criminally referred to the Department of Justice by Congressman Jim Jordan. The lawmaker alleges that Mr. Smith lied to Congress when he appeared to testify in December during a deposition that he did not access solons’ text messages. Disclosures by Senator Charles Grassley, though, appear to show that his investigation of Mr. Trump for January 6 involved the surveillance of text correspondence from 44 lawmakers.The ability of a special grand jury to issue a report resembles the mandate that special counsels do the same at the conclusion of their work — even if no charges are filed. Mr. Smith’s report on the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot was released days before the start of Mr. Trump’s second term, and it excoriated the president. The release of Mr. Smith’s final report on the case involving Mr. Trump’s storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago has been blocked by a judge — for now. The empaneling of a special grand jury comes at a precarious moment for Judge Pirro, who holds one of the most prestigious posts at the Department of Justice. Last week she withdrew charges against four defendants — including the Olympian David Hearn — for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool during renovations. Judge Pirro ultimately concluded that the “rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished.”The prosecutorial retreat enraged Mr. Trump, who accused Judge Pirro — whom he has known since the 1990s — of having “choked” and “folded like an umbrella.” He insists that he “hasn’t made a determination” regarding her fate and urged her to “re-visit her hastily made decision” to drop the charges. Cameras caught her wheeling boxes of evidence to the White House for a meeting with the president and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. Before Judge Pirro retreated on the case she vowed, “This is not only a priority for the president, but for myself. We will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hearn willfully destroyed property.” On Sunday the president acknowledged that “unfortunately, there is no video or proof, other than the damage, itself” to point to a culprit but that “We are working on the Pool, and it will reopen shortly.”

Pirro Convenes Rare ‘Special Grand Jury,’ Raising Prospect of Major Prosecution — Possibly Against Jack Smith

Pirro Convenes Rare ‘Special Grand Jury,’ Raising Prospect of Major Prosecution — Possibly Against Jack Smith

More from the New York Sun

Picture of Persistence: André Kertész’s Long Search for Recognition

Short of Soldiers, Ukraine Is Building a ‘Robot Army’

‘A Strange Choice’: Trump Plans Red State Swing During Midterm Final Stretch

Mamdani Revives Promise To Disband NYPD Terrorism Squad in Arabic-Tinged Remarks

‘Gravity of the Charges’ Delays James Comey Arraignment Until 2027 as Judge Weighs Motions To Dismiss

Welcome to Washington: The Week That Spooked Senate Republicans

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni Fends Off Challenge From Her Right, Bolstering Center-Conservative Coalition

Stellar Cast Makes ‘School Girls’ a Class Act

More from the New York Sun

Picture of Persistence: André Kertész’s Long Search for Recognition

Short of Soldiers, Ukraine Is Building a ‘Robot Army’

‘A Strange Choice’: Trump Plans Red State Swing During Midterm Final Stretch

Mamdani Revives Promise To Disband NYPD Terrorism Squad in Arabic-Tinged Remarks

‘Gravity of the Charges’ Delays James Comey Arraignment Until 2027 as Judge Weighs Motions To Dismiss

Welcome to Washington: The Week That Spooked Senate Republicans

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni Fends Off Challenge From Her Right, Bolstering Center-Conservative Coalition

Stellar Cast Makes ‘School Girls’ a Class Act