Overview
- U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro confirmed grand‑jury subpoenas to the Federal Reserve over Jerome Powell’s testimony on a $2.5 billion headquarters renovation with roughly $700 million in overruns, saying the Fed ignored repeated outreach.
- Powell called the investigation a political effort to pressure interest‑rate decisions and said DOJ threatened an indictment; Pirro responded that only Powell used the word and that no charges have been filed.
- A previously reported July letter from Powell to senators detailed the causes of the cost overrun, undercutting assertions that he misled Congress about the project.
- President Trump labeled Powell “incompetent or crooked,” voiced support for scrutiny while denying he ordered the probe, and Sen. Thom Tillis said he will block Fed nominees until the matter is resolved.
- Eleven central bank chiefs, former Fed chairs and former Treasury secretaries voiced support for Fed independence as markets showed limited reaction, with the dollar easing and gold rising and analysts cautioning about longer‑term credibility risks.