DOJ drops criminal probe of Fed Chair Powell, removes hurdle for Warsh confirmation
Source: CNBC
Published Fri, Apr 24 202610:17 AM EDT Updated 6 Min Ago
The Department of Justice on Friday dropped its criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, removing a major hurdle to the Senate confirming President Donald Trumps nomination of Kevin Warsh to replace him. Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia, announced the decision to abandon the Powell probe in a post on X.
Pirro had said on Wednesday that she was committed to continuing the probe, which had been crippled by a federal judges ruling quashing subpoenas her office issued to the Federal Reserve related to a multi-billion-dollar renovation of its headquarters in Washington.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, had put an effective hold on the full Senate voting on Warshs nomination unless the criminal investigation ended. Pirro on Friday said that the Feds inspector general, an internal watchdog, had been asked to investigate cost overruns in the headquarters project, which had been the purported basis for her criminal probe of Powell.
The Fed chair, and others, had said that the real reason for the investigation was to pressure Powell and the Fed to lower interest rates as Trump wanted.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/24/fed-powell-doj-warsh-trump.html
Article updated.
Previous articles/headline -
The Department of Justice on Friday dropped its criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, removing a major hurdle to the Senate confirming President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh to replace him. Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia, announced the decision to abandon the Powell probe in a post on X.
Pirro had said on Wednesday that she was committed to continuing the probe, which had been crippled by a federal judge's ruling quashing subpoenas her office issued to the Federal Reserve related to a multi-billion-dollar renovation of its headquarters in Washington.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, had put an effective hold on the Senate even voting on whether to confirm Warsh unless the criminal investigation of Powell was dropped. Pirro said Friday that the Fed's inspector general, an internal watchdog, had been asked to investigate cost overruns in the headquarters project, which had been the purported basis for her criminal probe of Powell.
The Fed chair, and others, had said that the real reason for the investigation was to pressure Powell and the Fed to lower interest rates as Trump wanted.
Published Fri, Apr 24 202610:17 AM EDT Updated 2 Min Ago
The Department of Justice on Friday dropped its criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, removing a major hurdle to President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh to replace him. Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia, announced the decision to abandon the Powell probe on X.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, had put an effective hold on the Senate confirming Warsh unless the criminal investigation of Powell was dropped. Pirro said that Fed's inspector general, an internal watchdog, had been asked to investigate cost overruns in the renovation of the central bank's headquarters in Washington, which had been the purported basis for her criminal probe of Powell.
"The IG has the authority to hold the Federal Reserve accountable to American taxpayers," Pirro said in her post. "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," she said.
"Accordingly, I have directed my office to close our investigation as the IG undertakes this inquiry," Pirro said. "Note well, however, that I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so."
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blue-wave
(5,404 posts)BumRushDaShow
(170,963 posts)This is how CNBC does their scoops - blare out a breaking news headline and then they update the content a bunch of times (and I try to keep up)!
LetMyPeopleVote
(180,856 posts)This "investigation" was stupid. trump needs his new Fed Chair confirmed and has to back down.
Link to tweet
https://abcnews.com/US/doj-expected-drop-criminal-probe-fed-chair-jerome/story
Senior DOJ officials have contacted senators in recent days, including Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, informing them of the plan to drop the probe and refer the matter regarding alleged cost overruns at the Fed's Washington headquarters to the bank's internal watchdog, the sources said.
The Fed's independent inspector general conducted an audit of the building renovation costs in 2021 and Powell had already asked the watchdog to take a fresh look at the $2.5 billion project last year....
District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has been insistent that her investigation of alleged cost overruns at the Fed would continue despite a ruling last month from D.C. District Judge James Boasberg that tossed out subpoenas she had sent to Powell.
Fiendish Thingy
(23,542 posts)The only remaining surprise is, once Warsh is confirmed, will the rest of the Fed outvote him and hike rates to fight inflation?
angrychair
(12,387 posts)Warsh is the proverbial "last straw" for the economy. That guy will send us right off the economic cliff. I have been dreading this particular situation for awhile now. This guy will literally do whatever he is told, no matter how destructive the outcome or warnings and no matter what Congress says.
Fiendish Thingy
(23,542 posts)Out of 16 votes, IIRC.
There are other Trump appointees on the Fed, but they are a minority (by just 1-2 votes, but a minority nonetheless).
Warsh cannot unilaterally change rates,policies or regulations.
If somehow rates are cut despite all economic indicators in opposition, inflation will of course skyrocket, and Dems will not only take the house in the midterms, but the senate as well.
gab13by13
(32,530 posts)do they expect him to retire?
Stay on Jerome, we need you.
Javaman
(65,911 posts)they were looking straight at the discovery phase and thought best to not.
angrychair
(12,387 posts)If Kevin Warsh is made fed chair he will crash the economy trying to appease Mango Mussolini's delusions and complete ignorance of how the economy works.
Not to mention I think he will turn the Fed into Mango Mussolini's personal piggy bank.
Fiendish Thingy
(23,542 posts)Just as Trump is not omnipotent, neither is Warsh.
angrychair
(12,387 posts)But they haven't been pushing this hard to replace him for no reason.
Fiendish Thingy
(23,542 posts)He would have been replaced no matter how hard anyone pushed.
His term as a board member continues for another year or two, so hes not going anywhere.
wishstar
(5,833 posts)"Warsh favors using trimmed averages of inflation, he told Senate lawmakers during his confirmation hearing this week. The trimmed mean and median remove outliers. Both the Dallas Fed and the Cleveland Fed release a trimmed average inflation gauge that excludes outlier data both high and low to provide a clearer picture of prices.
Warsh said that the current underlying trend of inflation is somewhat improving and looks quite favorable when examining so-called trimmed measures of inflation. The Dallas Fed trimmed mean PCE is currently 2.3%, while the Cleveland Fed median PCE is 2.8%. both lower than the latest reading of core PCE, which is at 3% and expected to increase."
So in order to justify rate cuts, he wants different averages used that will show inflation as lower, instead of the core PCE which is higher.
Bengus81
(10,263 posts)when Biden was in office. Don't worry cankles,you'll get your ultra low rates when a massive recession sets in. It will be automatic.
LetMyPeopleVote
(180,856 posts)The president went after the Fed chair with a vengeance, trying everything to get Powell to yield. But he didnt.
Under enormous pressure, Powell did his job without making any effort to appease Trump, cater to his ego, accommodate his demands, or offer some compromise.
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-24T16:14:21.917Z
Thereâs a lesson here for everyone about the value in fighting back, ignoring bullying, and doing the right thing.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-case-against-jerome-powell-collapses-proving-the-value-of-fighting-back
That effort failed in multiple ways. Even after Trumps Justice Department launched a misguided criminal investigation, for example, Powell ignored the pressure, as he had a responsibility to do. This also led to a political pushback that proved swift, broad and bipartisan, with several congressional Republicans agreeing it was a mistake to pursue the Fed chair with trumped-up charges.....
On Friday morning, however, she reversed course and seemed to throw in the towel. MS NOW reported:
The Justice Department has closed its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the renovation of the central banks headquarters, removing an obstacle for Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trumps pick to replace Powell, to be confirmed to the role.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, a close Trump ally, said in a statement on social media Friday that the inspector general for the Fed is instead conducting an inquiry into the buildings renovation costs.
.....Any time prosecutors abandon a case that was little more than politically motivated abuse, its encouraging, but as the dust settles, there are broader lessons to be learned here.
Specifically, Powell didnt flinch. The president of the United States went after him with a vengeance, trying everything he could think of, up to and including misusing the DOJ, to get the Fed chair to yield.
But he didnt. Powell just kept doing his job, without making any effort to appease Trump, cater to his ego, accommodate his demands or offer some compromise.
The pressure was intense, but the Fed chair, who was awarded a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award last month, did the right thing anyway.
Let this be a lesson to the larger political world: The only way to lose a fight against Trump is to pursue a course rooted in appeasement. Its true when it comes to news organizations; its true when it comes to law firms; its true when it comes to higher education; and its true when it comes to those in positions of authority who stand their ground in the face of presidential bullying and corrupt prosecutorial attempts at intimidation.
tableturner
(1,840 posts)Kills the deal.
aggiesal
(10,865 posts)After Warsh gets Senate confirmation, they will sue Powell again.