Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday that the Justice Department will not open its criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell following the release of an internal watchdog report that found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
“We’re not reopening a criminal investigation into him,” Blanche told Bloomberg in an interview Friday, closing off the possibility that prosecutors would revive the investigation into Powell over the Fed’s multibillion-dollar headquarters renovation, at least for now.
Blanche said he was satisfied with the findings of the central bank”s inspector general, which released a report this week examining the roughly $2.4 billion renovation project. The watchdog found significant shortcomings in the Fed’s management and oversight of the project but no evidence warranting a criminal referral or finding of administrative misconduct.
The attorney general, however, left open the possibility of future action if new evidence emerges. The Fed has said it will bring in an independent auditor to scrutinize the construction cost, and Blanche said the DOJ could investigate if that review uncovers evidence of wrongdoing.
“I expect there will be an auditing process,” Blanche said. “If they learn anything that rises to any kind of criminal misconduct, you better believe we’re going to investigate that.”
President Donald Trump and Powell had clashed over how the renovations were managed, as well as Powell’s repeated decision not to lower interest rates. As the feud developed, Trump railed against Powell for the project’s price tag, saying the project had become over $1 billion more expensive than its initial estimate.
FEDERAL RESERVE WATCHDOG FINDS NO ILLEGAL CONDUCT FROM JAY POWELL IN BUILDING RENOVATIONS
Powell announced in January that the DOJ was investigating him following allegations that he lied in a 2025 Senate testimony regarding renovations to the Fed buildings. Prosecutors later dropped the inquiry after it caused a rift in Trump’s pick to lead the central bank, Kevin Warsh, being confirmed.
The possibility of reopening the investigation resurfaced after the inspector general released its findings The president said he had asked Blanche to study the report and “make a determination as to what to do” about the cost overruns. He said that Powell should be forced to resign from the Fed. Powell’s term as chairman ended on May 15, while his term as a board member runs until 2028.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
