U.S. Attorney Pirro Drops Criminal Probe of Federal Reserve Chair Powell
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced the termination of a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell regarding his testimony on a headquarters renovation project. The probe, launched in November, was halted following a court ruling that quashed related subpoenas. Several Republican senators had criticized the investigation as lacking evidence of criminal activity.
mcsweeneys.netU.S. The investigation, initiated in November, focused on Powell's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on June 25 about a renovation project at the Federal Reserve's Washington, D.C., headquarters. Pirro had stated on Wednesday that the investigation would continue and that her office would appeal a recent court decision.
District Court for the District of Columbia quashed two grand jury subpoenas related to the probe. The subpoenas sought information on the renovation, which had exceeded its budget, and Powell's statements during the committee hearing. Boasberg did not provide further details on his reasoning in the publicly available information.
During the June 25 hearing, Powell addressed questions about features in the renovation, including reported amenities such as rooftop garden terraces, water features, elevators to a VIP dining suite, white marble, rooftop beehives, and a private art collection.
Powell stated that there was no VIP dining room, no new marble beyond replacements for damaged original material, no special elevators, no new water features, no beehives, and no roof terrace gardens. He described reports of these elements as inaccurate or not part of the current plan.
In a July 17 letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, Powell provided additional explanations. He noted that a mentioned garden terrace referred to a ground-level lawn serving as a green roof for stormwater management. He confirmed that historic multi-use rooms were being renovated but not as new VIP dining areas, and that original elevators were being rehabilitated with minor extensions for accessibility.
Powell also explained that initial designs included new water features, but these were eliminated, with original fountains being restored instead. For marble, he stated that original exterior marble was being salvaged and reinstalled, with new domestic marble from Georgia used where necessary to meet preservation guidelines.
