Washington — Federal prosecutors made an unannounced visit this week to a construction site at the Federal Reserve headquarters that is the focus of the investigation into a $2.5 billion renovation project, according to two people familiar with the visit.
Two prosecutors and an investigator from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jeanine Pirro, were removed Tuesday by a building contractor and referred to Fed lawyers, one of the people said. The two people familiar with the visit spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly.
Last month, during a closed-door hearing before a federal judge, A.J The top representative of the Peruvian office admitted They found no evidence of a crime in their investigations into the headquarters project.
The investigation has faced bipartisan opposition in Congress. It also delayed the Senate’s consideration of the Kevin Warsh case, President Donald Trump’s choice To replace Fed Chairman Jerome Powell when his term ends on May 15.
Robert Hoare, an attorney for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, emailed prosecutors in the Perot case about their visit and request for a “tour” to “check the progress” of the construction site. Hoare’s email, seen by The Associated Press, noted that U.S. District Judge James Bosberg concluded that their interest in the Fed’s renewal project was “pure pretext.”
“If you wish to challenge this finding, the courts provide you with a recourse; it is not appropriate for you to attempt to circumvent them,” Hoare wrote.
Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina and a ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, I posted a link on social media To the Wall Street Journal article about the visit below the photo of the Three Stooges wrote, “US Attorney’s Office for D.C. at the crime scene.”
The investigation by Perot’s office centered on brief testimony Powell gave last June before the Senate Banking Committee, when he was asked about cost overruns in the Fed’s extensive building renovations. The latest estimates from the Federal Reserve indicate that the current estimated cost of $2.5 billion is about $600 million more than the 2022 estimate of $1.9 billion.
News of the unannounced visit by prosecutors comes as Trump once again threatened to fire Powell if the Fed chief decides to remain on the central bank’s board after his term ends next month.
“Well then I’ll have to fire him, okay?” Trump told Fox Business in an interview aired Wednesday when he was reminded that Powell said he would not leave the Fed while the Justice Department investigates a $2.5 billion renovation project at the bank.
Trump did For several months Trump wanted to remove Powell as Fed chairman, saying he had been too slow to orchestrate interest rate cuts that would give the US economy a quick boost. Powell said the investigation is a An excuse to undermine the Fed’s independence in setting interest rates.
Powell’s term as Fed governor ends on May 15, but his term as a member of the Fed’s board continues until January 2028.
Warsh was confirmed to succeed Powell delay. Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said he would not vote to confirm any Fed nominee until the investigation is dropped.