The Justice Department has declined to reopen its criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over cost overruns tied to the central bank’s headquarters renovation, dealing a setback to President Trump’s long-running effort to see his frequent target prosecuted.
According to The Guardian, a department spokesperson confirmed the decision Friday, though Attorney General Todd Blanche told Bloomberg News, which first reported the news, that he isn’t entirely closing the door on further scrutiny of the project’s oversight if new evidence of wrongdoing surfaces.
The move follows a Wednesday finding from the Fed’s own inspector general, which concluded there were no grounds for a criminal referral and no evidence of administrative misconduct tied to the overruns. Even so, the watchdog’s determination that oversight of the project had been lax was enough to reignite Trump’s calls for Powell’s resignation, continuing a pattern of criticism Trump has directed at Powell across both his presidencies.
Powell stepped down as Fed chair in May but has remained on the Fed’s board as a governor. His successor, Kevin Warsh, announced Thursday he would bring in an independent auditor to verify the accuracy and compliance of all project-related costs, with Blanche noting that any criminal evidence turned up by that review could still prompt a DOJ investigation.
At his final press conference as chair in April, Powell said he intended to stay on the Fed’s board until the investigation was “well and truly over, with transparency and finality.”
A Fed spokesperson did not immediately respond to Blanche’s comments.
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