US attorney's office opens criminal investigation into Fed chair Powell: Report

US federal prosecutors in Washington have launched a criminal investigation into Jerome H. Powell, examining whether the Federal Reserve chair misled Congress about the scale and cost of the central bank’s headquarters renovation, according to officials familiar with the matter.

The inquiry, being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, involves a review of Mr Powell’s public testimony alongside a detailed scrutiny of spending records linked to the project. Officials said the investigation was authorised in November by Jeanine Pirro, who was appointed to lead the office last year.

The move opens a significant new legal front against Powell, who has been under sustained attack from Donald Trump for refusing to sharply cut interest rates. Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of removing the Fed chair — despite having nominated him in 2017 — and has suggested the possibility of legal action over what he has described as a $2.5 billion renovation marked by “incompetence”.

In an interview with The New York Times last week, Trump said he had already chosen his preferred successor to Powell and indicated that an announcement could be made shortly.

(More to come)