Federal Prosecutors Are Said to Have Opened Inquiry Into Fed Chair Powell

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: New York Times

Jan. 11, 2026, 7:04 p.m. ET


The U.S. attorney’s office in the District of Columbia has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, over the central bank’s renovation of its Washington headquarters and whether Mr. Powell lied to Congress about the scope of the project, according to officials briefed on the situation.

The inquiry, which includes an analysis of Mr. Powell’s public statements and an examination of spending records, was approved in November by Jeanine Pirro, a longtime ally of President Trump who was appointed to run the office last year, the officials said.

The investigation represents the opening of a major new legal front against Mr. Powell, whom Mr. Trump has continually attacked for resisting his demands to slash interest rates significantly. The president has threatened to fire the Fed chair — even though he nominated Mr. Powell for the position in 2017 — and raised the prospect of a lawsuit against him related to the $2.5 billion renovation, citing “incompetence.”

Mr. Trump told The New York Times in an interview last week that he had decided on who he wants to replace Mr. Powell as Fed chair. He is expected to soon announce his decision. Kevin A. Hassett, Mr. Trump’s top economic adviser, is a front-runner for the top job. While Mr. Powell’s term as chair ends in May, his term as a governor runs through January 2028. Mr. Powell has not disclosed whether he plans to stay on at the central bank beyond this year. The Fed declined to immediately comment. A Justice Department spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/us/politics/jerome-powell-fed-inquiry-trump.html

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No paywall (gift)

[FarPoint]

1. Oh for Fuck sakes!

I am so damn sick of the crime family running America....

[yellow dahlia]

3. What you said.

[CousinIT]

2. More retribution bullshit. Trump can't understand basic math..Powell already explained it..

…..to the demented old turd but he can’t grok the numbers, so he decided to attack Powell for what Trump is incapable of comprehending.

Typical.

[LiberalArkie]

7. I do not think Trump can do anything but parrot what the voices tell him to do and say.

[Ocelot II]

4. More malicious, groundless, retributive "prosecution" for no reason other than harassment.

[Chasstev365]

5. So Republicans: Are you OK with this too?

Honor the oath you took to unhold the constitution and DO YOUR FUCKING JOBS! Stop this mad man!

[surfered]

6. I guess the good news is Jeanine Pirro has, so far, been unable to secure indictments.

[markodochartaigh]

8. Among Hassett's books,

"The Drift, Stopping America's Slide Towards Socialism".

[C_U_L8R]

9. Trump should be forced to pay everyone's lawyer bills

Last edited Sun Jan 11, 2026, 09:11 PM - Edit history (1)

He drops these frivolous suits to inflict monetary damage, more than actual judgments.
Courts should put an end to this scam.

[lostincalifornia]

13. As long as these jackasses have a majority in congress and control of the supreme court, that is unlikely to happen, and

even if it did you can bet that it will be the tax payers that would pay for it, not trump.

Americans are the stupidest, dumbest people as a whole to elect these degenerates, and that includes those who didn't vote or voted third party.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. Statement from Chairman Powell

Link to tweet

[SunSeeker]

11. When are they going to open an investigation into Trump's illegal ballroom? WTF

[lostincalifornia]

12. What an evil, deplorable piece of garbage that is occupying the white house, along with his THUGS in the justice

department.

[BigmanPigman]

14. I just watched a podcaster's video of this...wow!

?si=-lGxo8kwRrhHWNzg

[Buddyzbuddy]

15. Republicans are just innocent powerless bystanders.

[wolfie001]

16. More criminality instigated by the fat orange imbecile

It never stops with that smelly mf'er.

[LudwigPastorius]

17. Holy shit

Expect a big sell off in the U.S. Treasury market tomorrow.

The stock market will probably wobble too. If I had any money, I'd buy gold at this point.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

18. This Powell statement is incredibly direct

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

19. MaddowBlog-Prosecutors open investigation into Fed Chair Powell, sparking immediate backlash

Team Trump has embraced the idea that the levers of prosecutorial power are just another tool to be used against those who get in the president’s way.

As Trump’s DOJ pursues Powell, it's worth appreciating the brazenness: Trump abusing the justice system. He knows he’s abusing the system. He knows that we know he’s abusing the system — but he’s doing it anyway.

The corruption is the point. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-01-12T13:05:08.422Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/prosecutors-open-investigation-into-fed-chair-powell-sparking-immediate-backlash

Two weeks ago, however, Trump’s position took a curious turn: He announced on Dec. 30 that his administration would “probably bring a lawsuit against” Powell.

That didn’t make a lot of sense — there were no grounds for such a case — but two weeks later, those comments became relevant anew. As it happens, the president didn’t bother pursuing some baseless civil suit against the Fed chair; instead, his team settled on a different legal tactic. The New York Times reported:

The U.S. attorney’s office in the District of Columbia has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, over the central bank’s renovation of its Washington headquarters and whether Mr. Powell lied to Congress about the scope of the project, according to officials briefed on the situation.

The inquiry, which includes an analysis of Mr. Powell’s public statements and an examination of spending records, was approved in November by Jeanine Pirro, a longtime ally of President Trump who was appointed to run the office last year, the officials said.

Around the time the news started to reach the public, Powell issued a roughly two-minute video statement, speaking directly to the camera, confirming that Trump’s Justice Department on Friday had served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment.

Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...

— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve.gov) 2026-01-12T00:35:27.499Z

.......A political backlash is brewing too. Democratic leaders wasted little time in condemning the developments, but the pushback wasn’t entirely partisan. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement, “If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none. It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.”

Just as notably, the senator said he would “oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed — including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy — until this legal matter is fully resolved.”

But as important as these elements are, it’s worth appreciating the profound damage Trump and his team are doing to the rule of law as the dust settles on the news......

Trump doesn’t appear to be the least bit concerned about appearances or a pretense of propriety. He’s abusing the system. He knows he’s abusing the system. He knows that we know he’s abusing the system — but he’s doing it anyway.

It’s easy to believe that Trump and his confederates aren’t hiding their weaponization of the criminal justice system because they want everyone to notice. They need federal officials and White House critics to be afraid, and other federal prosecutors to understand that they’ll soon be unemployed unless they play ball with the Republican agenda.

The corruption is the point.

There might be half-hearted denials, issued with winks and nods, but by design, everyone should be painfully aware of what is plainly true: The authoritarian crisis has arrived, and it’s getting worse. We now live in a country where the president’s opponents are pursued by prosecutors in brazen displays of partisan power.

[gfarber]

20. Economic Chaos

There once was a mogul so grand,
Folks asked, “Is he taking commands?”
If Moscow’s his boss,
At what added cost
Would he change how he runs Uncle Sam’s?

If wrecking the economy’s aim,
Trump’s playing the role with great fame:
With borders shut tight,
Growth loses its bite—
A third slower’s the macroeconomic game.

He thundered, “I know how to grow!”
(Though graphs softly whispered, “Uh… no.”)
Immigrants gone,
The labor force wanes,
But confidence’s never been low.

Now Powell, the Fed chair, demure,
Found threats he could no longer endure.
“Indictment?” he said,
“That’s politics, not Fed—
These pretexts just don’t quite obscure.”

“It’s not bricks or budgets or leaks,
Or testimony given in weeks.
This pressure’s designed
To bully the kind
Of policy driven by facts, not by shrieks.”

The markets responded in fright:
Gold shot to a record-high height.
The dollar slid fast,
As investors, aghast,
Cried “Sell America!” well before night.

Stocks dipped and the bond yields went strange,
As traders priced chaos and change.
If threats rule the Fed,
Then evidence’s dead—
And rates won’t obey on command or exchange.

Yet fear not! For we’re told with a grin,
No one knows how these levers all spin.
If wisdom were noise,
And bluster a choice,
Then Trump is the master we’re in.