Overview
- The Federal Reserve confirmed it received grand‑jury subpoenas Friday tied to Jerome Powell’s June testimony on a roughly $2.5 billion headquarters renovation, raising the prospect of criminal charges.
- Powell called the action a pretext to coerce monetary policy, vowed not to resign, and said the central bank will continue setting rates based on economic conditions.
- President Donald Trump said he had no knowledge of the investigation, the White House criticized Powell’s performance, and the Justice Department has not publicly explained the probe.
- Former Fed chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and Janet Yellen condemned the move as unprecedented, and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said he would block Fed nominees until the legal matter is resolved.
- Markets swung on the news as gold hit record highs and U.S. stock futures fell, before major indexes closed slightly higher Monday as investors weighed policy and institutional risks.