Federal prosecutors made an unannounced visit this week to a construction site at Federal Reserve headquarters that is the focus of an investigation into a $2.5 billion renovation project, according to two people familiar with the visit.
Two prosecutors and an investigator from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office were turned away on Tuesday by a building contractor and referred to Fed attorneys, one of the people said. The two people familiar with the visit spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation.
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Last month, during a closed-door hearing before a federal judge, a top deputy from Pirro’s office conceded that they hadn’t found any evidence of a crime in their investigation of the headquarters project.
The investigation has faced bipartisan opposition in Congress. It also has delayed Senate consideration of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Fed chairman Jerome Powell when his term ends May 15.
Trump has again threatened to fire Jerome Powell if the Federal Reserve Chair decides to stay on the central bank's governing board after his term as chair expires next month.
“Well then I’ll have to fire him, OK?” Trump told Fox Business in an interview that aired Wednesday when reminded that Powell has said he won’t leave the Fed while the Justice Department investigates a $2.5 billion renovation project at the bank.
Trump has for months wanted to remove Powell as chair of the Fed, saying he has been too slow in orchestrating interest rate cuts that would give the U.S. economy a quick boost. Powell has said the investigation is a pretext to undermine the Fed's independence to set rates. A federal prosecutor last month admitted that the investigation into the renovations had turned up no evidence of a crime.
Powell's term as Fed governor expires May 15, but his term as a Fed board member lasts until January 2028.
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Trump has nominated former Fed official Kevin Warsh to succeed Powell. Yet Warsh’s confirmation has been delayed. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, has said he won’t vote to confirm any Fed nominees until the investigation is dropped.
