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BREAKING: DOJ DROPS Criminal Investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell


The Department of Justice has officially closed its criminal investigation into Jerome Powell over the wildly over-budget Federal Reserve renovations project.

Today, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced that she is dropping the probe.

However, she noted that she will not hesitate to re-open the investigation should new evidence surface.

Read Pirro’s full statement on X here:

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This morning the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve has been asked to scrutinize the building costs overruns – in the billions of dollars – that have been borne by taxpayers.

The IG has the authority to hold the Federal Reserve accountable to American taxpayers. I expect a comprehensive report in short order and am confident the outcome will assist in resolving, once and for all, the questions that led this office to issue subpoenas.

Accordingly, I have directed my office to close our investigation as the IG undertakes this inquiry. Note well, however, that I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so.

As Pirro noted, the case is now in the hands of the Federal Reserve’s Inspector General, who is currently conducting a review of the ballooning renovation project costs.

NBC News shared a statement from the Inspector General’s office:

The inspector general for the Federal Reserve has already reviewed the renovation project, and found no wrongdoing. It was asked again to review the project in 2025 by Powell, amid unrelenting pressure from President Donald Trump and his top allies.

The Inspector General’s office said that the review mentioned by Pirro on Friday was not new and that it was continuing to compile the review requested by Powell last year.

“In July of last year, the OIG announced that it was conducting an evaluation of the Board’s building renovation project,” a spokesperson said. “This assessment includes our independent analysis of the project’s substantial cost increases and overruns.”

“We are actively working to complete our review, and look forward to making the results available to the public and Congress upon completion,” the spokesperson added.

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This news may come as a shock to some of you.

But, it appears that the main reason for dropping the case has to do with clearing the path for President Trump’s Federal Reserve Chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, to be confirmed by the Senate.

Warsh’s confirmation has been blocked by Sen. Thom Tillis, who refused to give his support until the investigation into Jerome Powell was over.

The Hill reported further:

The end of the criminal probe into the Fed and Powell comes after retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) reiterated last week that he would not support any Trump nominee to the bank until the DOJ wrapped up its investigation, which he dismissed as a baseless political pressure campaign.

As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, Tillis has the ability to block nominees from being approved by the panel for a full confirmation vote, given the narrow 13-11 GOP majority on the committee.

Tillis enthusiastically praised Warsh at the nominee’s confirmation hearing before the Banking Committee earlier this week and pledged to support him as soon as the probe into the Fed and Powell ended.

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White House spokesperson Kush Desai expressed confidence in the path ahead for Warsh after Pirro’s announcement.

“American taxpayers deserve answers about the Federal Reserve’s fiscal mismanagement, and the Office of the Inspector General’s more powerful authorities best position it to get to the bottom of the matter,” Desai said in a statement.

“The White House remains as confident as before that the Senate will swiftly confirm Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chairman to finally restore competence and confidence in Fed decision-making.”

The DOJ’s investigation into Powell had also suffered some serious setbacks recently.

As you may recall, Judge Boasberg effectively crippled the investigation into last month when he blocked grand jury evidence.

For a refresher, here’s a clip from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s press conference after Judge Boasberg interfered:

We covered that full story in more detail here:

Judge Boasberg BLOCKS DOJ Investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell

What do you think?

Do you agree with Jeanine Pirro's decision to drop the case?



 

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