Federal prosecutors are investigating Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell over the central bank’s multi-billion-dollar project to renovate its headquarters, according to a report late on Sunday that the Fed confirmed.
The big picture: This amounts to an extraordinary escalation of President Trump’s campaign against Powell, whom he has assailed over interest rate policy. Powell’s term as Fed chair ends in about four months.
- Powell, in a rare public statement late Sunday, cast the investigation as a blatant assault on the Fed’s independence from politics.
Driving the news: The New York Times reported that federal prosecutors have opened an inquiry into Powell’s testimony about the renovation project before Congress.
What they’re saying: “On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June,” Powell said in a rare statement issued by the Fed.
- “That testimony concerned in part a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings. I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law. But this unprecedented
action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure,” Powell said. - “This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. It is not about Congress’s oversight role; the Fed through testimony and other public disclosures made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation
project,’ he added. - “Those are pretexts,” Powell continued. “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President. This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by
political pressure or intimidation.”
Source: Fed chair Powell faces DOJ investigation over building renovations
