“Justice Department drops investigation into Federal Reserve and Jerome Powell” Excerpt From “Justice Department drops investigation into Federal Res
NBC News reports:
“The decision clears the way for Trump's nominee to chair the Fed, Kevin Warsh, to advance toward a confirmation vote in the Senate.”
“The criminal probe from Pirro's office centered on the renovation of two historic buildings owned by the central bank.
The Fed, which said that the buildings "have not been comprehensively renovated since their construction in the 1930s," initially pegged the cost for the project around $1.9 billion. However, the cost rose to around $2.5 billion in the years since that first estimate.
The central bank said the cost increases were due to unforseen changes to the plans, the rising cost of raw materials, equipment and labor. It also said that it uncovered more asbestos on the site than expected, as well as a sinkhole.
But Trump and his top political allies seized on the project in an attempt to show that Powell was mismanaging the Fed.
Trump has been pressuring Powell to support a dramatic cut to benchmark interest rates set by the Fed's Open Market Committee since taking office again in 2025. But he has insulted and attacked Powell since long before that, accusing him of setting monetary policy to favor Democrats, among other unfounded claims.
Trump toured the construction site last summer, joined by Federal Housing Finance Agency Chief Bill Pulte, Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., and other White House officials. During the visit, Trump confronted Powell about the cost, saying that he heard it had risen to "about $3.1 billion."
In a remarkable moment on live television, Powell told the president he was wrong. “I haven’t heard that," he said.
Other White House officials, such as budget chief Russell Vought, had likened the project to the Palace of Versailles in France.
Vought also claimed that Powell was "guilty" of “fiscal mismanagement” at the Fed. The project was first approved by the Fed's seven board members in 2017, a year before Powell became its chair.
The controversy over the renovation project rocked the central bank and the Republican-controlled Senate in early January, when Powell released a rare Sunday evening statement announcing that Pirro's office had served the Fed with subpoenas.
Almost instantly, Tillis announced his block on any Fed nominees.
“No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law,” Powell said in the video release. “But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.”
On March 13, Chief Judge James Boasberg, of the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. blocked the subpoenas served to the Fed from Pirro’s office. In his ruling, Boasberg wrote that “the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime.”
"A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning," Boasberg added.”
Excerpt From
“Justice Department drops investigation into Federal Reserve and Jerome Powell”
Steve Kopack
NBC News
https://apple.news/AprsTYsAyQKGkFA71SH8GWA
This material may be protected by copyright.
My comment: Bolded emphasis was mine.
“The decision clears the way for Trump's nominee to chair the Fed, Kevin Warsh, to advance toward a confirmation vote in the Senate.”
“The criminal probe from Pirro's office centered on the renovation of two historic buildings owned by the central bank.
The Fed, which said that the buildings "have not been comprehensively renovated since their construction in the 1930s," initially pegged the cost for the project around $1.9 billion. However, the cost rose to around $2.5 billion in the years since that first estimate.
The central bank said the cost increases were due to unforseen changes to the plans, the rising cost of raw materials, equipment and labor. It also said that it uncovered more asbestos on the site than expected, as well as a sinkhole.
But Trump and his top political allies seized on the project in an attempt to show that Powell was mismanaging the Fed.
Trump has been pressuring Powell to support a dramatic cut to benchmark interest rates set by the Fed's Open Market Committee since taking office again in 2025. But he has insulted and attacked Powell since long before that, accusing him of setting monetary policy to favor Democrats, among other unfounded claims.
Trump toured the construction site last summer, joined by Federal Housing Finance Agency Chief Bill Pulte, Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., and other White House officials. During the visit, Trump confronted Powell about the cost, saying that he heard it had risen to "about $3.1 billion."
In a remarkable moment on live television, Powell told the president he was wrong. “I haven’t heard that," he said.
Other White House officials, such as budget chief Russell Vought, had likened the project to the Palace of Versailles in France.
Vought also claimed that Powell was "guilty" of “fiscal mismanagement” at the Fed. The project was first approved by the Fed's seven board members in 2017, a year before Powell became its chair.
The controversy over the renovation project rocked the central bank and the Republican-controlled Senate in early January, when Powell released a rare Sunday evening statement announcing that Pirro's office had served the Fed with subpoenas.
Almost instantly, Tillis announced his block on any Fed nominees.
“No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law,” Powell said in the video release. “But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.”
On March 13, Chief Judge James Boasberg, of the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. blocked the subpoenas served to the Fed from Pirro’s office. In his ruling, Boasberg wrote that “the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime.”
"A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning," Boasberg added.”
Excerpt From
“Justice Department drops investigation into Federal Reserve and Jerome Powell”
Steve Kopack
NBC News
https://apple.news/AprsTYsAyQKGkFA71SH8GWA
This material may be protected by copyright.
My comment: Bolded emphasis was mine.
