Justice Department Ends Powell Probe, Refers Fed HQ Renovation to Inspector General

Overview

• The Justice Department, which closed the case Friday, sent the cost-overrun review to the Federal Reserve’s inspector general.
• The White House said the Senate can now take up Kevin Warsh’s nomination after Senator Thom Tillis’s hold tied to the probe, with Powell’s term ending May 15.
• U.S. District Judge James Boasberg earlier blocked subpoenas to the Fed after prosecutors offered “practically no evidence” of a crime.
• Prosecutor Jeanine Pirro said she could reopen a criminal case if new facts surface, and President Trump said an outside review of Powell could still proceed.
• The inquiry centered on a roughly $2.5 billion headquarters renovation that Trump attacked as wasteful, while Powell denied wrongdoing and called the push a political threat to the Fed’s rate-setting independence.