Jeanine Pirro makes rare move as Trump leaves her job in doubt

WASHINGTON, DC: Jeanine Pirro has convened a special grand jury in Washington as President Donald Trump continues to keep her on her toes about whether her job as US attorney is safe.

The jury can give federal prosecutors a way to investigate major and controversial cases, but its target has not been disclosed.

The Washington Post reported the unusual move on Wednesday, August 12, citing government officials and three people familiar with the matter.

Jeanine Pirro takes unusual step as Trump's pressure continues

The new special grand jury will be headed by Steven Vandervelden, a top ally of Pirro, according to the Post, which cited three officials familiar with the matter.

It remains unclear what the jury will investigate.

The move comes as Pirro faces public pressure from Trump after her office dropped a vandalism case involving former Olympian David Hearn and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Steve Friedland, a law professor at Elon University, told the newspaper, "This could be very interesting. Each administration has its own approach to how it enforces the law and how it uses the tools available to it."

The report did not identify a connection between the grand jury and the Reflecting Pool case. 

President Trump escalates attacks on Jeanine Pirro over case

Trump has repeatedly criticized Pirro over the decision to drop the Reflecting Pool case. 

Last Monday, he said the former Fox News host had "choked" and "folded like an umbrella."

The following day, Trump was asked whether Pirro's job was safe. "I haven't made a determination," he told reporters.

Trump's criticism had begun earlier in the month. He wrote online, "I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don't know what she was thinking."

He later continued pressing Pirro's office to revisit the case. 

On Friday, Trump said people were reporting "pure VANDALISM" at the landmark and called Pirro's decision "a hastily made decision."

The pressure continued on Sunday, when Trump said a defendant had been caught by a National Park Service employee whom he called a "highly credible witness." 

Trump alleged the person had been "violently" ripping and tugging at the pool's coating.

The case behind Trump's criticism

Hearn was indicted July 2 on one count of felony destruction of property before the Justice Department moved to drop the charge. A DC judge then formally dismissed it.

Hearn has said he touched a piece of the Reflecting Pool's blue coating but did not remove or rip any part of it. 

Federal prosecutors have also moved to dismiss charges against three other individuals.

In a 20-page filing dated July 31, the Justice Department said additional Interior Department documents showed that "flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings," along with "the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration," had contributed to the deterioration rather than vandalism.

"Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment," the filing said.

Trump has rejected that conclusion, saying Pirro and the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia were "totally wrong."

"Everybody saw the vandalism," Trump said. "All you had to do was look at the tape."

Trump also said the landmark would reopen "shortly" and that security cameras were being installed.