Fed chairman says DOJ subpoenaed the bank

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Sunday the Department of Justice served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony last summer about the Fed's building renovations.

The move represents an escalation in President Donald Trump's battle with the Fed, an independent agency he attacked for not cutting its key interest rate as sharply as he prefers.

The subpoenas relate to Powell's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June, the Fed chair said, regarding a $2.5 billion renovation of two Fed office buildings, a project Trump criticized as excessive. Central bankers around the world expressed support for Powell.

WAR POWERS: Senate Republicans voted to dismiss a war powers resolution Wednesday that would have limited President Donald Trump's ability to conduct further attacks on Venezuela, after two GOP senators reversed course on supporting the legislation.

KELLY: Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot, sued the Pentagon on Monday over attempts to punish him for his warnings about illegal orders, claiming the Trump administration trampled on his constitutional rights to free speech.

CLINTONS: Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton refused to comply with a congressional subpoena Tuesday to testify in a House committee's investigation of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as Republican lawmakers prepared contempt of Congress proceedings against them.