Trump shouts and Jeanine Pirro listens

The US Attorney’s Office in DC is handling Trump’s retribution proceedings

The Wall Street Journal When a group of U.S. attorneys met at the White House last week for an event, President Trump chided the group for being “weak” and not “moving quickly enough to go after his favored targets,” the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. The newspaper reported that Trump’s tantrum, during which he also described the group of US attorneys as ineffective, occurred during a photo session. He reportedly told the gathered group that they were not doing enough to help District Attorney Pam Bondi and Deputy District Attorney Todd Blanche do their jobs. It has been clear for some time that Trump believes it is the job of the Justice Department leadership to act as his personal lawyers, thus enacting his personal vendetta.

Former Fox News host turned US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, was in the room.

A day later, the Feds received grand jury subpoenas from federal prosecutors and Pirro took responsibility for the move in a social media post, claiming the subpoenas came after USAO DC did not receive responses to information requests sent to the Fed in December. The grand jury subpoenas were related to testimony Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave to Congress last summer regarding the building’s February renovation.

“None of this would have happened if they had just responded to our outreach.” Perrault insisted on X. He added: “This office makes its decisions based on the merits, nothing more and nothing less.”

As my colleague David Kurtz pointed out on Morning Memo this week, reports have emerged suggesting that Perot did not consult with senior officials at the Justice Department before calling in the Fed. However, Trump and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Bolte denied signing on to the matter last Reports He gave Bolt a central role. per New York Times:

Officials familiar with her actions said senior ministry officials were astonished and disturbed that Ms. Pirro had not consulted with them about an investigation of such international importance.

This isn’t the only aggressive move USAO DC has taken since Trump attacked the White House US Attorneys group last Thursday.

Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) – Democratic senator and former CIA official who organized the release of a video showing elected Democrats/veterans reminding members of the military that it is their duty to ignore illegal orders – He told The Times on Monday That federal prosecutors are investigating her. She said she received a request from Perot’s office requesting an interview with Slotkin or her personal attorney. This comes as the FBI has also requested interviews with lawmakers involved in the video and the Department of Defense has opened proceedings to examine the retirement arrangement of Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), another prominent member of Congress who participated in the video. Kelly has filed a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in response.

If Pirro is looking for a way to appease Trump in the midst of his anger about not being sufficiently kowtowing to US attorneys, both Slotkin and Powell would be obvious targets. Trump has been raging against Powell for years and Slotkin angered Trump after the election video He was released. He caught his attention because he was implicitly critical of his actions in the Gulf of Mexico and his deployment of troops to American cities. He responded to the video by suggesting that Democratic members of Congress be arrested and charged with “seditious conduct punishable by death.”

Slotkin posted a video clip about the news of Peru’s request, saying that she would not be silenced.

“Right now, speaking out against abuse of power is the most patriotic thing we can do,” she said.

Last week, the US Attorney for DC requested an interview with me because of a 90-second video that President Trump did not like.
Intimidation *is the point*. This won’t work.
See my full response. pic.twitter.com/j6Z9bYqi5y
– which – which. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) January 14, 2026

The era of error

Sarah Posner, a longtime TPM friend and contributor covering the religious right in America, is launching a new podcast that we encourage you to check out. The Reign of Error will explore how religious and ideological extremism and white Christian nationalism—issues very close to this author’s heart as the daughter of a former evangelical preacher—became a focal point of American politics, both in the run-up to and during the Trump era. Here’s how Sarah described her new project:

Each 45-minute episode begins with a major news event and expands into a deeper, historically grounded conversation with leading scholars and journalists. Our goal is to connect investigative reporting and public scholarship, providing clarity and context in a moment of profound democratic stress.

Reign of Error will be released on January 22. Find a new episode every Thursday in your favorite podcast app.

Hawley folds

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) reversed his position on whether President Trump needs Congress’ permission to deploy troops to Venezuela after the president cut ties with the senator and longtime ally over his recent vote.

Last week, Hawley voted with a handful of other Republican and Democratic senators to advance a measure that would prevent Trump from using military force in Venezuela — the country whose regime leader Trump just physically removed and brought to the United States to face drug terrorism charges — without Congress’ permission. Trump responded by attacking Hawley and other Republicans who helped push the measure, threatening to remove them from office. Hawley ignored the matters at first, telling reporters that he had a good relationship with Trump.

Now the senator from Missouri is backing down entirely. Hawley reportedly said Punchbull News Wednesday that he will now vote against the war powers resolution after talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He said that Rubio assured him that Trump did not plan to send troops to Venezuela. The hill Punchbowl reports confirmed.