Pirro Screws Over Trump's Plan with Accidental Admission

Summary

Legal AF by MeidasTouch
Episode: “Pirro Screws Over Trump's Plan with Accidental Admission”
Date: May 5, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This Legal AF episode, hosted by Michael Popok and Ben Meiselas, tackles recent legal maneuvers surrounding the attempted criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell. The central focus is Jeanine Pirro’s recent motion to vacate a judge’s scathing order that blocked the investigation – a move widely seen as an effort to erase embarrassing legal precedent for the Trump administration. The hosts break down what Pirro’s filing means, why it’s drawing so much scrutiny, and how it reveals the ongoing politicization of federal prosecutions.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background: The Investigation into Jay Powell

• The Department of Justice, under political pressure from Trump, launched a criminal investigation into Jay Powell related to alleged cost overruns at the Federal Reserve complex.
• Chief Judge Boasberg issued a “scathing decision,” quashing subpoenas, declaring the investigation was conducted in bad faith, and finding its dominant purpose was to harass Jay Powell for political reasons ([01:30]).

2. Pirro’s Motion: What’s Really Going On?

• Jeanine Pirro’s office filed a motion to vacate Boasberg’s prior order. Her aim: to eliminate it from the precedent books so it cannot be used against the government (or help future targets of politicized investigations) ([01:30–03:00]).
  • Popok: “What they’re trying to do is take off the book...it comes off the books and doesn’t make them look bad. It’s as if it never existed.” ([01:45])
• The motion is based on her public claim that the investigation is now “closed.” However, there’s no formal closeout memo—just a social media post from Pirro ([04:00–06:00]).
  • Popok: “No closeout memo, just social media posts...I may be back. In fact, Donald Trump said it should go all the way to its conclusion.” ([03:30])

3. Judge Boasberg’s Scathing Findings (March Order)

• The hosts walk through Boasberg's opinion, calling out its extraordinary nature.
  • The judge cited over 100 Trump statements attacking Powell, concluding that “the dominant, if not sole, purpose [of the subpoenas] is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign.” ([06:00])
  • The DOJ’s own #2 admitted to the judge that “they had no criminal facts against Jay Powell related to this project.” ([05:00])
  • Judge: “The court is thus left with no credible reason to think that the government is investigating suspicious facts as opposed to targeting a disfavored official.” ([07:00])

4. The Political Backdrop

• The investigation was politically motivated, with Trump’s allies seeking to pressure Powell into lowering rates or to force his resignation ([06:30]).
• Senator Thom Tillis refused to support Trump’s Fed Chair replacement (“Kevin Warsh”) until the “cloud” over Powell was lifted ([02:45]).

5. Jeanine Pirro’s Public Spin

• Pirro claimed Boasberg’s decision “bathed Powell in immunity,” painting the ruling as an outrageous judicial overreach ([08:45]):
  • Pirro ([08:45]): “No one, folks, is above the law. And this outrageous decision will be appealed by the United States Department of Justice.”

6. Trump’s Revealing Comments

• Trump openly advocates to drag out the Powell investigation, airing doubts about the cost overruns and questioning if there is “incompetence or theft” ([11:45]):
  • Trump ([11:45]): “You want to take it and just find out what happened. Because we can't go around doing a renovation ... and spend billions and billions of dollars. Something went wrong. We have to find out what it was.”

7. Why Pirro’s Motion is Problematic

• The supposed “closure” of the investigation is not genuine—no affidavit, no sworn testimony, just a social media intention.
  • Popok: “If she really wanted to convince the court, they would have filed an affidavit, sworn testimony, and they didn’t. And that speaks volumes.” ([13:00])
• Pirro’s move to vacate avoids creating “estoppel” (a legal block from reopening the case). The government wants the damaging precedent erased while reserving its right to revive the prosecution ([13:30–14:30]).

8. Legal Strategy & Likely Outcome

• Popok projects that Powell’s lawyers will emphasize the pattern of vindictive Trump-era prosecutions to show a credible threat remains to Powell despite claims the case is over.
  • Popok: “They want their cake and eat it too.” ([13:30])
• He predicts Judge Boasberg will refuse to vacate his orders, leaving protection in place for Powell and upholding precedent against politically driven investigations ([15:00]).

9. Broader Implications

• The independence of the Federal Reserve and the principle of protection from political persecution are at stake.
  • Popok: “The independence of the Federal Reserve was what was at stake, and judges like Chief Boasberg protected it.” ([16:25])

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Popok ([01:45]): “If an order on the docket falls in the woods and nobody’s there to hear it, what happens?”
• Judge Boasberg, as paraphrased by Popok ([06:00]): “There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant, if not sole purpose, is to harass and pressure Powell.”
• Jeanine Pirro ([08:45]): “Jerome Powell today is now bathed in immunity, preventing my office from investigating the Federal Reserve. This is wrong and it is without legal authority.”
• Donald Trump ([11:45]): “We can’t go around doing a renovation...spend billions and billions of dollars. Something went wrong. We have to find out what it was.”
• Popok ([13:00]): “If she really wanted to convince the court, they would have filed an affidavit, sworn testimony, and they didn’t. And that speaks volumes.”

---

Segment Timeline

• [01:30] – Popok describes Pirro’s motion and the push to vacate the judge’s order
• [04:00 – 06:00] – Dissecting Judge Boasberg’s opinion and Pirro’s lack of substantive closure
• [08:45] – Pirro’s public response and rhetoric about Powell’s “immunity”
• [11:45] – Trump’s live reaction on dragging out the investigation
• [13:00 – 15:00] – How Pirro’s legal strategy falls short: no affidavit, just intention
• [16:25] – The episode conclusion: the fight for institutional independence

---

Tone & Delivery

• The tone is direct, analytical, and mildly sardonic, especially when skewering legal theater by the Trump administration and Jeanine Pirro.
• Quotes are delivered with emphasis on exposing contradiction and political maneuver.
• The show’s vibe balances urgent legal breakdown with dry wit (“Mr. Complicated Name”; “If an order on the docket falls in the woods…”).

---

Summary Takeaways

• Pirro’s motion to vacate is an attempt to erase legal precedent embarrassing to Trump’s DOJ, but lacks the formal closure required to truly end the threat to Powell.
• Judge Boasberg’s order is a rare public condemnation of politically motivated prosecution, and the legal team expects the order to stay in force.
• The case exemplifies ongoing efforts to use federal prosecution for political ends—and the judiciary’s current role in halting that trend.

---

End of Summary

Transcript

[Cachava Advertiser]

Craving the coffee flavor you love, but without the caffeine, Cachava's got you covered with their newest coffee flavor. This all in One Nutrition Shake delivers bold, authentic flavor crafted from premium decaffeinated Brazilian beans. Quality nutrition shouldn't be complicated. Just two scoops of Cachava's all in One Nutrition Shake and you've got 25 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, greens and so much more. Whether you're craving that coffee taste to kickstart your morning ritual or as a nutrient packed reward to round out your afternoon, Cachava keeps you fueled and satisfied wherever your day takes you. Plus, it actually tastes delicious. No fillers, no nonsense, just the good stuff your body craves. And for the times you feel like switching it up, you've got seven flavors to choose from, all with the highest quality ingredients. Treat yourself to the flavor and nutrition your body craves. Go to kachava.com and use code news. New customers get 15% off their first order. That's K A C-H-A-V-A.com code news owning

[HomeServe Advertiser]

a home is full of surprises. Some wonderful, some not so much. And when something breaks, it can feel like the whole day unravels. That's why HomeServe exists for as little as 4.99amonth. You'll always have someone to call a trusted professional ready to help, bringing peace of mind to four and a half million homeowners nationwide. For plans starting at just $4.99 a month, go to HomeServe.com that's HomeServe.com not available everywhere. Most plans range between $4.99 to $11.99 a month. Your first year terms apply on covered repairs.

[Michael Popak]

We got less than 10 days to go on Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell's term as chair, and yet we still have to do reporting about the attempted criminal investigation and prosecution of him related to cost overruns for the redevelopment of the Federal Reserve complex. Because we've got new reporting and a new filing By Jeanine Pirro Two months after Chief Judge Boasberg, in a scathing decision, effectively said that the Department of Justice, in bad faith, was criminally investigating Jay Powell and threw out the subpoenas issued by the grand jury in an extraordinary remedy after a judge found that the dominant reason for the investigation was to harass Jay Powell to get him to quit to lower interest rates or both. Now we've got Jeanine Pirro saying it's all better now, right? Because I've announced that I'm going to not prosecute him and turn it over to the inspector general's office. Now aren't we? No, we're not. All good. And no Chief Judge Boasberg should not vacate on a motion for vacateur his original order in March or his subsequent follow up order in April. It should remain law of the case to protect Jay Powell from future prosecutions. I'm Michael Popo. You're on the Midas Touch Network. Let's get to the reporting. We know the headline from mainstream media. Jeanine Pirro's office files motion to vacate judges order concerning Jay Powell. But what are they trying to do? What they're trying to do is take off the book. So it has no precedential, that's P R E C E D precedential impact on future cases. In other words, it comes off the books and doesn't make them look bad. It's as if it never existed. You know, if an order on the docket falls in the woods and nobody's there to hear it, what happens? And so there is a rule, a technique you can use if the parties have resolved the matter, for instance, and therefore making the appeal of the issue underlying it moot because the case is over. Sometimes you go back and ask the judge to pull off the order. That's not what happened here. What happened here is that they were compelled because Thom Tillis, the outgoing Republican from North Carolina in the Senate who sits on the Banking Committee, said he would not vote for Kevin Warsh, Trump's replacement of Jay Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, until the cloud of criminal investigation was off of Jay Powell. That led about a week ago, Janine Powell, Janine Pirro in a social media post to say I'm going to end the prosecution, end it, not close it out with a closeout memo, which is the right way to do it. As a prosecutor that people can rely on, you can have some what's called estoppel value. No, no social media posts, not closeout, official memo, but I'm closing it. But I'm keeping an eye on the inspector general who's going to do investigations about whether there's cost overruns and who's responsible. And I may be back. In fact, Donald Trump said it should go all the way to its conclusion. Now Janine Pirro then wants to say, see, I closed it. No closeout memo and therefore you should take off your order concerning it. Right? Judge, I don't think that's how. In fact, I know that's not how that works. You're on midas Touch and Legal AF take a minute. Hit the free subscribe button. Help Legal AF get to 1.2 million subscribers now. What is the order that she hates? Here's the order that she hates up on legal AF substack for you back on the 13th of March in which the judge did an extraordinary thing. He intervened in a criminal investigation. Found on the record there were no facts to support a criminal investigation. In fact, had Jeanine Pirro's number two in her office admit to the judge they had no criminal facts against Jay Powell related to this project and then quashed the subpoenas finding that the prosecution investigation was brought in bad faith. He leads off Chief Judge Boasberg leads off his memorandum opinion on page one with just a list of social media attacks by Donald Trump on Jay Powell. Jerome Too late. Powell has done it again. He's too late. He's too angry, he's too stupid, he's too political to be Fed Reserve chair. He put another way, he's a total loser and the country pays the price. He's the dumbest, most destructive people in government. Too late at American Disgrace. The judge concludes on page two by answering this question. Did prosecutors issue the subpoenas, criminal subpoenas from the grand jury for a proper purpose? The court finds they did not. There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas dominant, if not sole purpose, is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the president or to resign and make way for a Fed chair who will on the other side of the scale, the government this is on page three, has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President. Jeff Boseberg goes on to say on page five back in March, Trump has specifically aimed his anger at Chair Powell. For years he's berated Powell, threatened him, ordered him to lower rates, or done all three at once. He's truly one of the dumbest, most destructive people. And when the judge then turns to his interaction with the lawyers in Jeanine Pirro's office, including one that just signed the motion to vacate a guy by the name of Ga Mazuka Lataif, it's a complicated name, but Mr. Complicated Name in interactions with the judge provided no evidence, even in camera, away from the prying eyes of the media, just to the judge, just a love note to the judge. You could submit it after the hearing and still nothing. Here's how the judge summarize that indeed, many prosecutors want to hold their cards close to the vest respecting this prerogative. The court at the hearing invited the government to submit any additional justifications for the subpoenas. In fact, in other recent cases, they've done that. In our case, however, the government at the hearing declined to offer any other evidence, nor has it supplied any written submissions. The court is thus left with no credible reason to think that the government is investigating suspicious facts as opposed to targeting a disfavored official. When the evidence of improper motive is so strong and the justifications for these subpoenas are so tenuous, it's hard to see the renovations and testimony as anything other than a convenient pretext for launching a criminal investigation that the government launched for another unstated purpose. Pressuring Powell to knuckle under. That's the order. And a subsequent one in April that's very similar that that the Pirro Group wants off the books. And you can see why. Here's Jeanine Pirro, the night that order came out, talking about a federal judge just bathed Powell in immunity. Let's play the clip and the imagery.

[Jeanine Pirro]

Jerome Powell today is now bathed in immunity, preventing my office from investigating the Federal Reserve. This is wrong and it is without legal authority. And so this decision today by Judge Boasberg runs directly afoul of our highest court's admonition that courts and judges must not and cannot saddle grand juries with many trials and preliminary show, impede a prosecutor's investigation and thus frustrate the public's interest in the fair and expeditious administration of justice. No one, folks, is above the law. And this outrageous decision will be appealed by the United States Department of Justice.

[Ben Meiselas]

Hey everybody, Ben Meiselas here from the Midas Touch Network. I wanted to let you know about my podcast partner Michael Popo's new law firm. It's called the Popak Firm. Michael Popox pursuing his dream of starting his own law firm. Really based on the popular demand by all the Midas mighty and legal A effers who are approaching Michael Popak with their cases and saying, can you help us? And at that time, Popak was not able to. So he went out on his own. He started the Popoc firm where he is now handling catastrophic injury cases like car accident cases, trucking cases, malpractice cases, big negligence cases, wrongful death cases. So if you or someone you know have a case like this, the consultation with Popox firm is free. Give them a call. See if you have a case. It's thepopoc firm.com thepopoc firm.com or you can call 877 popock af p o p o k af so 1, 8, 7, 7, pop. Okay. Af give Michael popak a call. And I'm really proud of you, Popak. Thanks for all the hard work you're putting in.

[Michael Popak]

That brings us to the criminal investigation. Is it really over or is it closed, but not closed? Well, Jeanine Pirro said, I'm going to close it, but there's no official closeout memo, which is what I would require as a defense lawyer in order to find that it really is closed. Instead, she said, I'm leaving the lid open while the inspector general does his work and then come back to me. Even Donald Trump had this to say about the investigation. Play the clip.

[Wayfair Advertiser]

Mr. President, speaking of the Fed, would you like to see Jeanine Pirro drop the investigation into Chairman Powell to help? Senator Tillis has basically said that, you know, he's not going to really be working with.

[Donald Trump]

He's not a senator or senior.

[Wayfair Advertiser]

So would you like to see the investigation?

[Donald Trump]

No, I just gotta take it to the end and see, like, you're doing a small renovation and they've spent almost $4 billion doing a small renovation. I'm doing buildings. I built a hotel, The Waldorf, it's called. And I did it for around $200 million, is a much bigger job. They're spending almost. It could be $4 billion. I tell you what, I don't even see an engine. Say, I feel badly for the new Fed chairman because he may not have an office for four years. I don't know what these people are doing. So it's either gross incompetence or it's theft of some kind or kickbacks. I don't know what it is. But Jeanine Pirro is incredible and she'll figure it out. But you want to take it and just find out what happened. Because we can't go around doing a renovation of a small, little complex, very small couple of little buildings and spend billions and billions of dollars. Something went wrong. We have to find out what it was.

[Michael Popak]

Which is the reason that I'm sure the next piece of paper filed by the very competent lawyers for Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve, are going to say to the judge, look, this administration has a very long list of vindictive prosecutions they want to go after. They're still going after people from 2017 and 2018, for God's sakes. They're going after. They're starting an investigation against Anthony Fauci, the head of the national Infectious, the NIH related to Covid. So, no, it's not good enough. That there was a social media post about a closed filing. In fact, you would think that to support the motion to vacate this memorandum, right. That was just filed, that I'm going to read to you from that Jeanine Pirro herself or her assistant would file an affidavit or declaration under oath that they are dismissing and closing the indictment. Never this particular one, never to be resurrected. But they don't even do that. And that speaks volumes. They want the judge to rely on a social media post of Jeanine Pirro that you just saw saying, yeah, for now, I'm not going to prosecute. Forget it. The thing should stay. The order should stay on the books. It should be law of the case, and it should be used and perhaps even in a stoppable moment against any future prosecution of Jay Powell. This is even, even in their motion that they just filed, they're still fighting with, with Judge Boasberg. It said on page one. The court concluded that the dominant purpose of the subpoenas was to harass and pressure Jerome Powell of the Federal Reserve. On April 24, the United States attorney announced her intention by social media post to close the grand jury investigation. Her intention, by the way, even there, it doesn't say that it is closed. It just says she announced her intention and then, oh, by the way, the grand jury went out of business. So don't worry. This is pretty weak. T here's where you would if you really wanted to win this, you put in an affidavit from her sworn under oath by Jeanine Pirro. By not doing that, they are the reason they don't want to do it, because they don't want to have an argument of what's called estoppel, where Jay Powell's lawyers come back and wave it around in their face. So they want it. They want their cake and eat it, too. It says, you know, we don't agree. We would have moved to appeal because the judge did some extraordinary things. Here's what it Sundays on page four. And this is now arguing on the merits. The court's decision to quash the subpoenas implicates important separation of powers concerns. Conducting federal criminal investigations is the special province of the executive. Okay. Accordingly, grand juries and federal prosecutors are entitled to strong presumptions of regularity. Not this one. Not based on Donald Trump then going after Jay Powell for that. They say, well, that violates the First Amendment of Donald Trump. It says on page five. The court attributed President Trump's public statements to the United States attorney's decision to open the grand jury investigation in support, the court cited at least 100 statements over the many years criticizing Powell. They just write it off this way. Some presidents have a more acidic pen and pugnacious style than others. But it cannot be that the president effectively forfeits his constitutional authority to faithfully execute the criminal laws anymore by if he's been especially critical of a target or a witness. Yeah, I don't think that's how that works. So here's what I think that the chief judge does. After he sees the other side's brief, he rejects it. For the reasons that I'm outlining, the investigation is not properly closed. There's only an intention at best expressed in a social media post. If she really wanted to convince the court, they would have filed an affidavit, sworn testimony, and they didn't. And therefore I'm not closing. I'm not granting the motion to vacate. Those orders stay on the books to protect the innocent, which is where we should be. 10 days left in Jay Powell's term as chairman stays on until the end 2028, which of course is burning up Donald Trump's backside. But that's the point. The independence of the Federal Reserve was what was at stake, and judges like Chief Boasberg protected it. I'm Michael Popak. You're on Legal AF and Midas Touch. Take a minute and hit the free subscribe button in both YouTube channels as we continue to grow our Pro Democracy network. Until my next report, I'm Michael Popo.

[Ben Meiselas]

Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our [e-mail] youm'll

[Michael Popak]

get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, ad

[Ben Meiselas]

free episodes of our podcast and more exclusive content only [e-mail]

[Wayfair Advertiser]

hey there. It's Wayfair here, where delivery and setup are as easy as a few taps on your phone. You're relaxing in an old hammock, scrolling Wayfair's app when you spot it. A brand new patio set. Next thing you know, Wayfair delivers it right to your patio and sets it up. Oh, you need a new grill too. Alright, Wayfair's got you covered. With Wayfair's room of choice delivery and fast expert setup on qualifying orders, life gets a little easier. Visit Wayfair.com or the Wayfair app.

[Cachava Advertiser]

Wayfair Every style, every home.