General Discussion

Former federal prosecutor and CNN legal expert Elie Honig reacted Friday to comments from Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, who was furious during an impromptu press conference following a major legal blow to the Trump administration.

Honig described the legal impact after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg granted the order, agreeing with the Fed that Trump's repeated attacks on Fed chair Jerome Powell indicate the investigation into the Federal Reserve's building renovation was pretextual and politically motivated.

"So first of all, that press conference in itself was extraordinary," Honig said. "Ordinarily, whenever you see a U.S. Attorney call a press conference and address the cameras, it's because there's been an indictment or a conviction or a sentence. I don't think I've ever seen a U.S. attorney or an attorney general call a press conference to complain about a ruling that he or she did not like. That was essentially a public temper tantrum."

Honig also fact-checked some of what Pirro said during the unusual press conference.

"You heard Jeanine Pirro say that this judge, Judge Boasberg, is a quote 'activist judge,''" Honig said. "This judge was elevated to the district court by Barack Obama. But before that, he was put on the local D.C. Superior Court by George W. Bush. And in this judge's past, he has actually denied a motion years ago to try to get Donald Trump's tax returns. He ruled in favor of Donald Trump on those tax returns. And then finally, most fundamentally, we just heard Jeanine Pirro complain that the grand jury subpoena is an important tool of prosecutors, which it is. You heard Jeanine Pirro say that the judge 'has taken that tool away from us.' That's not quite right."