The United States Justice Department is closing its investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, clearing the way for the confirmation of Kevin Wersh, President Donald Trump’s preferred choice to head the US central bank.
The move by US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in Washington DC and a Trump ally, brings to an end an investigation that prompted a key Republican senator to block Trump’s bank nominees.
The investigation was to examine cost overruns in the renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters, but Pirro said he had instead asked the Fed’s internal watchdog, the Office of the Inspector General (IG), to take charge.
“The IG has the authority to hold the Federal Reserve accountable to American taxpayers,” Pirro said in a social media post.
“I expect a comprehensive report shortly and am confident that its results will help resolve once and for all the questions that led this office to issue the subpoena.”
What do we know about the Powell sample?
The Powell investigation has become the latest flashpoint in the Justice Department’s pursuit of Trump opponents and critics.
Last month, a federal judge blocked subpoenas of the Fed’s Board of Governors, saying they were issued for the improper purpose of pressuring Powell to lower interest rates or accede to Trump’s request to resign.
Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg found that prosecutors had shown “essentially zero evidence” that Powell committed the crime.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis of Carolina, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, also called Powell’s investigation “baseless” and vowed not to support Kevin Wersh’s appointment unless the DOJ drops its charges.
Tillis’s blockade had effectively blocked Varsh’s confirmation – but that barrier has now been removed.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko