US Justice Department lacks evidence of wrongdoing by Fed chair, official testifies

ISTANBUL

The US Justice Department has found no evidence that the Federal Reserve or its Chair Jerome Powell committed any crimes in connection with the $2.5 billion renovation of its Washington headquarters, a senior deputy to Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a recent closed-door hearing, according an official transcript.

The prosecutor’s remarks challenge President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation involved criminal conduct.

Lawyers for the Federal Reserve and the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia disputed two grand jury subpoenas during a sealed March 3 hearing, later unsealed, before a federal judge struck them down as an unlawful attempt to pressure Powell over interest rates and his position.

Trump has long railed against the Fed chief for his refusal to lower interest rates as quickly or as much as the president demands, and had periodically threatened to remove Powell, though his term is set to end this May.

A spokesperson for Pirro’s office said Tuesday that the grand jury investigation aims to determine whether there is probable cause that a crime was committed, according to The Washington Post, adding, “That is exactly what we are doing here as we investigate the discrepancies in Jerome Powell’s testimony before Congress and the billion-dollar-plus cost overrun.”

The office claimed Powell’s testimony showed “possible discrepancies” and that the renovation’s cost overruns raised “the specter of fraud,” but gave no details. Prosecutors had reviewed about 600 Fed documents and a prior audit that found no criminal issues. A new construction cost audit is now underway at Powell’s request.

Trump told reporters last week in the Oval Office with the Japanese prime minister that the Fed’s renovation could have cost $25 million. “They’re spending $4 billion. All right? So it’s, uh, there is criminality,” Trump said.

After pushing US prosecutors to pursue his perceived political enemies in the courts, Trump in recent months has faced a series of setbacks, including stillborn efforts to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.