Federal prosecutors in Washington have opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell over renovations to the central bank’s headquarters and whether he misled Congress about the scope of the project, according to officials briefed on the matter.
The inquiry, approved in November by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, includes a review of Powell’s public statements and spending records and marks an escalation in President Trump’s long-running pressure campaign against the Fed chair, whom he has repeatedly criticized over interest rates and threatened to fire.
Powell acknowledged that the Justice Department had issued grand jury subpoenas, calling the investigation “unprecedented,” and warned it posed a threat to the Fed’s independence, while the Justice Department declined to comment beyond saying it was prioritizing investigations into possible abuses of taxpayer funds.