Pirro Drops Appeal Plan in Fed Probe, Leaving Powell in Limbo
CNBC reported Monday that U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro has dropped her widely signaled plan to appeal court rulings that blocked her Fed investigation subpoenas. Instead, she filed a motion asking the presiding judge to vacate his earlier decisions entirely. The move halts the immediate legal threat to the central bank but stops well short of resolving the underlying uncertainty facing Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Pirro Files to Vacate Rather Than Appeal
Rather than pursue a higher-court review, Pirro submitted a motion to vacate the rulings of Chief Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia. Her appeal deadline fell on Monday, and she let it pass without filing one. In a statement to CNBC, Pirro said her office was continuing to contest Boasberg’s rulings to prevent them from creating broader legal consequences. The Fed declined to comment on her latest filing.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean P. Murphy told CNBC that a vacate motion essentially asks a judge to treat prior decisions as though they never occurred. He noted that Pirro recently used a similar tactic in January 6-related cases. Murphy argued she lacks the legal standing to erase a Department of Justice loss in the same way in the Fed matter. Boasberg has not yet ruled on her latest request.
Background: Why the Subpoenas Were Blocked
Boasberg quashed Pirro’s subpoenas in March, finding her office had presented no concrete evidence of wrongdoing. The judge concluded that substantial signs pointed to a politically motivated effort to pressure Powell into cutting interest rates faster than the Fed deemed appropriate. He described the record as showing “a mountain of evidence” that the subpoenas were designed to coerce the Fed chair. He upheld that ruling in April. The investigation centers on cost overruns during ongoing Federal Reserve building renovations and related congressional testimony by Powell.
Powell Stays Put, For Now
Powell has stated he will remain on the Fed’s Board of Governors past his chair term expiration later this month. He told reporters Wednesday he intends to stay until he is satisfied the legal threat has genuinely passed. Pirro has not committed to closing the probe permanently. She said she would reopen it if circumstances warranted and is awaiting a report from Fed Inspector General Michael Horowitz on the renovation cost overruns. Even if Boasberg reversed himself, Pirro currently has no mechanism to compel the Fed to hand over evidence. The standoff leaves Powell and the central bank in a state of unresolved tension with the executive branch over Fed independence.
