{"id":8959,"date":"2026-08-12T09:35:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8959"},"modified":"2026-08-12T09:35:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:35:20","slug":"pirro-in-rare-move-convenes-special-grand-jury-in-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8959","title":{"rendered":"Pirro, in rare move, convenes special grand jury in Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unlike typical grand juries, those designated special focus on a single case or related cases and can issue a report following their investigation.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Trump-Netanyahu rift widens as election pressures pull them in opposite directions<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for D.C., during a news conference at the Justice Department in February. (Aaron Schwartz\/Bloomberg News\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The Justice Department has convened a special grand jury in Washington, a rare legal body that officials say could pave the way for federal prosecutors in the nation\u2019s capital to investigate some of its biggest and most controversial cases.<\/p>\n

Unlike a typical grand jury, a special grand jury can release a potentially critical report about the subject of an investigation, even if prosecutors do not find enough evidence to bring the person to trial.<\/p>\n

D.C.\u2019s special grand jury is to be overseen by Steven Vandervelden, one of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro\u2019s top allies in her office, according to three government officials familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that has not been made public.<\/p>\n

Pirro has relied on Vandervelden to investigate some of her office\u2019s most controversial cases, including a probe into then-Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell and an inquiry into allegations that the D.C. police force purposely skewed its crime statistics.<\/p>\n

It is unclear what the new special grand jury will be tasked with probing, but those interviewed said it is a notable move, especially given President Donald Trump\u2019s interest in prosecuting his adversaries.<\/p>\n

Special grand juries, on the rare occasions when they are convened, are typically used to pursue investigations of government officials or probe broad conspiracy cases and organized criminal activity. (A group of corruption cases that prosecutors deem to be linked could qualify as the latter.)<\/p>\n

Steve Friedland, a law professor at Elon University, said strict procedures govern how special grand juries can be used \u2014 but that there is also flexibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis could be very interesting,\u201d Friedland said. \u201cEach administration has its own approach to how it enforces the law and how it uses the tools available to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. attorney\u2019s office in D.C. declined to comment.<\/p>\n

There is no known recent precedent for a special grand jury in Washington, legal experts said, although they said they could not entirely rule out that one has escaped public notice.<\/p>\n

They are more common in larger jurisdictions home to more than 4 million people, including in New York and Texas, where federal guidelines says one must always be available, under the belief that organized crime is more common in larger areas.<\/p>\n

On the state level, Georgia prosecutors convened a special grand jury to investigate alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election by Trump allies in the state. On the federal side, a special grand jury was empaneled in Houston more than 20 years ago to investigate Enron, a powerful energy company that was engulfed in a massive fraud scandal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are very unusual,\u201d said Niki Kuckes, a professor at Roger Williams University with expertise in the grand jury process. \u201cSometimes they can issue a report, which a regular grand jury can\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The convening of the special grand jury comes as Pirro and top Justice Department officials face pressure to deliver on cases that Trump wants prosecuted. Todd Blanche, Trump\u2019s former personal lawyer, was recently confirmed as attorney general, solidifying his position atop the department.<\/p>

Read more Democratic rebellion against older politicians reaches new battleground<\/a><\/p>\n

Pirro\u2019s record in moving against the administration\u2019s perceived enemies has been mixed at best<\/a>. Her office has failed to successfully prosecute a man accused of throwing a Subway sandwich<\/a> at a federal agent; six Democratic lawmakers<\/a> who released a video advising service members to reject illegal orders; and Powell, whom Trump accused<\/a> of mishandling a renovation project.<\/p>\n

Last week, the president suggested Pirro\u2019s job was in jeopardy after she dismissed charges against a former Olympian who had been accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The officials familiar with the convening of the special grand jury said that prosecutors submitted the paperwork for it before Pirro dropped the Reflecting Pool-related charges.<\/p>\n

In general, grand jury proceedings are a secretive part of the legal process in which prosecutors present evidence and jurors vote on whether there is evidence to charge someone with a crime.<\/p>\n

A special grand jury has several unique characteristics. The 23 members focus only on a single case \u2014 or a string of cases that prosecutors present as related \u2014 instead of juggling a variety of matters like most grand juries. And a special grand jury\u2019s ability to issue a report at the end of an investigation sets it apart.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cpreponderance of evidence\u201d of wrongdoing. That is a significantly lower standard than the \u201cguilt beyond a reasonable doubt\u201d that is needed to convict someone.<\/p>\n

Anyone named in a report has the opportunity to testify before the special grand jury and present witnesses for their defense. And according to Kuckes, a judge must sign off on the report before it is publicly released, ensuring the report meets the requirements for citing someone by name.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very protective scheme. A majority of the grand jurors have to decide to issue the report,\u201d Kuckes said. \u201cAnd a special grand jury has to be set up to investigate some criminal wrongdoing. You can\u2019t just have one to issue a report.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other ways, special grand juries resemble ordinary ones. To win an indictment, prosecutors must convince a simple majority of the jurors that there is \u201cprobable cause\u201d to believe a crime was committed. Grand jury proceedings also take place in private, to protect the privacy of those who are interviewed but not implicated in a crime.<\/p>\n

The law recognizes that special grand juries are only to be convened in unusual cases. In most jurisdictions, including D.C., they must be requested by the U.S. attorney general or their designee. Paperwork to establish them must go through the district\u2019s chief judge; in Washington\u2019s case, that is James E. Boasberg.<\/p>\n

A special grand jury generally runs for 18 months, although it can wrap up its work sooner \u2014 or its tenure can be extended in six-month increments by a judge, with the total time not to exceed 36 months.<\/p>\n

Pirro has regularly found herself caught between Trump, who has publicly demanded that his adversaries be prosecuted, and the liberal Democrats who live in Washington and populate its legal system. The flash point has often been grand juries, whose members in the Trump era have sometimes declined to indict people despite prosecutors urging them to do so, something that traditionally is very unusual<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Those people include the six Democratic lawmakers who appeared on the video about illegal orders, as well as several defendants whom Pirro tried to charge with felonies during last year\u2019s federal law enforcement surge.<\/p>

Read more Here are the races you should watch today<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unlike typical grand juries, those designated special focus on a single case or related cases and can issue a report following their investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nPirro, in rare move, convenes special grand jury in Washington - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8959\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pirro, in rare move, convenes special grand jury in Washington - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unlike typical grand juries, those designated special focus on a single case or related cases and can issue a report following their investigation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8959\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-12T09:35:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f1c4a4a3c6ecd7701bee1b8643f204d9-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Pirro, in rare move, convenes special grand jury in Washington\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-12T09:35:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959\"},\"wordCount\":1205,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5bad2b186d296d113ed73afccef829cd-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959\",\"name\":\"Pirro, in rare move, convenes special grand jury in Washington - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5bad2b186d296d113ed73afccef829cd-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-12T09:35:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=8959#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5bad2b186d296d113ed73afccef829cd-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5bad2b186d296d113ed73afccef829cd-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, during a news conference at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. 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