WASHINGTON – The prosecutor who initiated a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell under President Donald Trump’s administration stated Sunday that a clean bill from the Fed’s internal watchdog on headquarters renovation overruns would close the chapter.
Trump-appointed US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” addressed the probe she launched in January and dropped last month after US District Judge James Boasberg quashed Justice Department subpoenas. On the Fed Office of Inspector General’s review: “If there’s something there, great and if there isn’t, I’ll go home.”
Powell, long a Trump critic, slammed the inquiry as an assault on Fed independence. Boasberg ruled the subpoenas improper, citing evidence they aimed to coerce Powell into slashing interest rates or stepping down. Pirro shifted focus to the Inspector General, already reviewing the project at Powell’s request last year. “The only way to find out is through the Inspector General,” she insisted, while vowing to challenge Boasberg’s order to protect investigative precedents.
Since reclaiming the presidency in January 2025, Trump has hammered the central bank for slower, shallower rate cuts amid stubborn inflation. The probe had stalled Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh as Powell’s successor, with his chair term ending May 15. Republican Senator Thom Tillis, a vocal detractor, blocked it until Pirro halted the criminal track.
Tillis praised the pivot on CNN, calling it “how this process is supposed to work.” He added that if wrongdoing emerges, “then we’ll talk,” but noted prosecutors see no crime. With the Republican Senate poised to confirm Warsh, Powell affirmed Wednesday he’d remain a Fed governor post-term, eyes on “recent developments.”