Prosecutor admits government lacks evidence of misconduct by Fed chair
Source: Washington Post
March 24, 2026 at 2:58 p.m. EDT
A top deputy to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro acknowledged in a closed-door hearing this month that the Justice Department did not have evidence of wrongdoing in its criminal investigation of the Federal Reserve over the cost of its building renovations, according to a transcript of the court proceedings.
The prosecutors admission, which has not been previously reported, undercuts President Donald Trumps claim that there is criminality in the $2.5 billion overhaul of the Feds headquarters overlooking the National Mall.
Attorneys for the Fed and the U.S. attorneys office in D.C. battled over the legality of two grand jury subpoenas at the center of the investigation during a sealed hearing March 3. A transcript of the proceedings was later unsealed. Both subpoenas were quashed this month by a federal judge, who described them as an illegal effort by the Trump administration to pressure Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell to lower interest rates or resign from the independent central bank.
Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in D.C. and a Trump ally, opened the inquiry after Powell gave brief testimony on the renovations costs during a congressional hearing last year. The criminal investigation followed years of criticism from Trump over the Feds handling of monetary policy and his public demands that the Justice Department target his perceived political foes. Prosecutors are weighing whether the cost overruns amount to fraud and whether Powell gave false testimony to the Senate Banking Committee.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/03/24/powell-fed-chair-subpoena-prosecutor/
No paywall (gift link)
ANNNNDDDD yet ANOTHER "Pirro Special" goes down.
spanone
(141,525 posts)Marie Marie
(11,256 posts)Hmmm, who'd thunk?
muriel_volestrangler
(106,153 posts)There are 1.2 billion reasons for us to look into it, Massucco-LaTaif told Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg.
That's the chief of the criminal division of the U.S. attorneys office in D.C.? He makes My Cousin Vinnie look like Thurgood Marshall. If Republicans had been prosecuted the moment something "didn't seem right", every Trump cabinet member and most of them in Congress would be in court right now. This is the definition of 'lawfare'.
dickthegrouch
(4,505 posts)WH: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave
So easy to get the two addresses mixed up; "An honest mistake, your honor".
The real wrongdoing is occurring much closer to home.