Criminal probe into Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is ending, U.S.
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The Justice Department is closing its investigation into cost overruns in renovations at the Federal Reserve under chairman Jerome Powell, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Friday.
Pirro said the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve has now been asked to scrutinize the building costs.
“The IG has the authority to hold the Federal Reserve accountable to American taxpayers,” Pirro said in a social media post. “I expect a comprehensive report in short order and am confident the outcome will assist in resolving, once and for all, the questions that led this office to issue subpoenas.”
However, Pirro said she “will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so.”
A federal judge last month blocked subpoenas to the Fed’s board of governors, finding they were issued for the improper purpose of pressuring Powell to cave to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands to rapidly lower interest rates or resign. As recently as this week, Pirro had vowed to appeal the ruling and continue the investigation.
Powell’s term as chair is set to expire May 15.
The Pirro investigation had stiffened Powell’s attitude toward remaining in a Fed governor’s seat that extends to 2028, the last full year of Trump’s presidency. Fed chiefs traditionally depart the board as well when their leadership terms end.
Trump administration threats against Powell, including the criminal investigation, were threatening to delay the Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee to succeed Powell.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican member of the Senate’s banking committee, has said he regarded the probe as a frivolous assault on the Fed’s independence and would block Warsh’s confirmation until it is dismissed.
Democrat Warren unimpressed by announcement
Democrats and former Federal Reserve leaders also slammed the probe into costs as a pretext for undermining the independence of the panel from the White House. Trump has frequently cited incorrect numbers for the cost of the renovations, earning a correction from Powell last year when the pair were standing side by side.
Three of the Fed’s seven current governors were appointed by then-president Joe Biden, including Lisa Cook. The Trump administration has sought to fire Cook, a case that is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court.
The launch of a criminal investigation into U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has politicians on all sides questioning what it could mean for the independence of the institution in charge of the country’s monetary policy.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a member of the banking committee,…
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