Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department is not reopening a criminal investigation of former Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell over the central bank's headquarters renovation, after an inspector general found no criminal wrongdoing.
The US Justice Department is not reopening a criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell over cost overruns on the central bank's building renovation, Attorney General Todd Blanche said. Blanche told Bloomberg in a Friday interview, reported by the Boston Herald, that the department was not reopening a criminal case against Powell.
Blanche was commenting on a report from the Fed's Office of Inspector General that found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Powell connected to the project. The Herald reported that the renovation, initially budgeted at $1.3 billion in 2020, had risen to about $2.4 billion, and that the watchdog identified management missteps behind the higher cost. The Financial Times described the project as a $2.5 billion renovation.
Blanche said he was satisfied with the inspector general's report but that Powell had not appropriately overseen the project. Axios quoted him distinguishing mistakes and weak oversight of a billion-dollar project from criminal conduct. He did not rule out looking again if a further review produced evidence of a crime.
The Fed has said it will engage an independent auditor to scrutinise the building costs. Blanche said that if that review finds evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the Justice Department could investigate. President Trump had asked Blanche to review the watchdog findings and decide what to do about Powell, Axios reported.
No new charges were announced. The next formal step described by officials is the independent cost audit, not a revived criminal case.
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- Blanche said Powell had not overseen the project appropriately
- Blanche said lack of oversight was not necessarily a crime
- The Fed inspector general found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Powell