U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro asked a federal judge to vacate his decision blocking aspects of her criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve, effectively abandoning a plan to appeal the ruling to a higher court.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has not ruled out reviving the widely criticized investigation and is waiting on findings from the Fed's inspector general
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U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro asked a federal judge to vacate his decision blocking aspects of her criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve, effectively abandoning a plan to appeal the ruling to a higher court.
Monday was the deadline by which Pirro had to file a notice of appeal, making the motion a de facto abandonment of that route.
Legal experts cautioned the move may not achieve what Pirro intends. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean P. Murphy told CNBC that vacating a ruling amounts to asking a court to wipe away something as though it never occurred, and he expressed doubt that Pirro has the legal standing to expunge the record of a defeat suffered by the Justice Department in this way. Boasberg had not yet issued a ruling on the motion as of Monday.
In a statement to CNBC, Pirro said her office would "continue to litigate Judge Boasberg's illegal quashing of our subpoenas in order that it no longer stand and to prevent it from spawning any legal consequences."
The probe has centered on alleged cost overruns in the renovation of two historic buildings on the Fed's Washington campus, where the projected price tag grew from about $1.9 billion to about $2.5 billion. In March, Boasberg ruled that Pirro's office had failed to produce sufficient evidence of wrongdoing to justify the grand jury subpoenas, with the judge writing that the record overwhelmingly pointed toward a political motive — specifically, using the investigation to coerce Powell into voting for lower interest rates or stepping down. That decision was reaffirmed by Boasberg the following month.
The investigation's fate has carried significant consequences beyond the Fed itself. The legal fight had complicated the Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee to succeed Powell as Fed chair. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina had blocked committee action on the Warsh nomination until the Justice Department dropped the probe.
Pirro announced the closure of the investigation after referring the matter to the Fed's inspector general — a move that cleared the path for the Senate Banking Committee to advance Warsh's nomination. But Pirro reserved the right to reopen the case and has declined to commit to ending the investigation if the inspector general finds no criminal wrongdoing.
Powell, whose term as Fed chair ends May 15, said he would remain on the Fed's Board of Governors until the legal threats against the central bank were resolved with "transparency and finality." His continued presence on the board would give him a platform to push back against efforts to influence monetary policy for political ends even after Warsh takes over. The Senate Banking Committee has since sent Warsh's nomination to the full chamber on a party-line vote.
Pirro has not ruled out reviving the investigation and is waiting on findings from Fed Inspector General Michael Horowitz, though she has stopped short of committing to stand down permanently even if Horowitz concludes no crimes were committed. A Fed spokesperson offered no comment on the new filing.
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