The Fed: Government watchdog seeks grand jury subpoenas from criminal probe of Jerome Powell

Jerome Powell was the chairman of the Federal Reserve for eight years, until just weeks ago when Kevin Warsh was appointed to the post by President Donald Trump, and remains on the board even now.

But not all has been a success, as there was launched a criminal investigation that focused on the billions of dollars spent, and being spent, on a luxurious rebuild of the organization's offices.

Now government watchdog Judicial Watch is asking for access to two grand jury subpoenas issued in connection with that criminal probe into the spending $2.5 billion for a remodeling of those rooms.

The board wants them kept concealed, alleging they are part of the documents it can choose to withhold from the public, a position Judicial Watch opposes.

"The board's own conduct defeats its position. The board did not request these subpoenas, did not consult with the prosecutors who served them, and received them in no advisory capacity whatsoever. It retained outside counsel and moved to quash them," the watchdog confirmed.

"The board's own words remove any doubt. It told the chief judge that the purpose of the subpoenas was 'to harass, pressure, and punish' the Federal Reserve and Chair Powell until they set monetary policy as the President wished, and that the United States Attorney's Office had proceeded by 'abuse of the criminal process.' … As described by the board, the subpoenas were not created to assist it in any way whatsoever."

Powell previously admitted the DOJ had served the subpoenas and threatened indictment related to his 2025 testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, which addressed among other topics the remodeling of the Marriner S. Eccles Building and the adjacent Federal Reserve East Building.

Powell denied any part of the $2.5 billion was going to anything "luxury," even though the original cost estimates of $1.9 billion exploded to $2.5 billion.

Judicial Watch confirmed, "In July 2025, U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) sent a formal oversight letter to Powell highlighting discrepancies between the testimony and approved renovation plans, raising concerns about transparency and accountability for the multi-billion-dollar project. The letter points out that previously approved plans by the National Capital Planning Commission appear to reference some of the luxury features—raising questions about whether the plans changed, the features were removed, or the testimony was incomplete."

Then criticism arrived from Russell Vought, then chief of the Office of Management and Budget, who asked Powell about the project, its management and compliance with federal requirements.

He suggested some of the elements of the renovation belonged in France's "Palace of Versailles."

"The Federal Reserve is hiding grand jury subpoenas about potential crimes and public corruption from the American people. These are not internal deliberations—they are legal process served on the Fed," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "The Board should stop stonewalling and release the records."

The watchdog's request for the court is for release of the suibpoenas.

It sued when the Fed declined to comply with a January Freedom of Information Act request for details.

Trump's criticism of Powell, whom he described at times as "incompetent" and "corrupt," included his assessment that the renovactions were "the most expensive construction job every built anywhere in the world per square foot."

Trump estimated that the project actually will end up costing taxpayers $4 billion.

The Department of Justice just weeks ago dropped the investigation, but the ramifications from the questions that were raised continue to impact Washington.

It's not Trump's only dispute with the Fed. He tried to fire board members Lisa Cook, was told by the courts he couldn't do it the way he chose, and now has renewed his efforts following those court rulings.