The US justice department is not reopening a criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for cost overruns related to the central bank’s building renovation project, a department spokesperson said on Friday. Attorney general Todd Blanche – in comments to Bloomberg News, which first reported the development – said he has not ruled out continuing to look into the project’s oversight and potentially take action if evidence of wrongdoing came to light. The Fed’s inspector general on Wednesday said it found no grounds for a criminal referral or evidence of administrative misconduct tied to the project cost overruns.
But its conclusion there was lax oversight drew a fresh call for Powell’s resignation from Donald Trump, who across his two presidencies has been a vociferous critic of Powell. Powell has remained at the Fed as a governor since stepping down as chair in May. His successor as Fed chair, Kevin Warsh said, on Thursday he would hire an independent auditor to “verify accuracy and compliance” for all of the project’s costs.
Blanche told Bloomberg News that if the new review found any evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the justice department could investigate. At his final press conference as Fed chief in April, Powell said he would not leave the central bank’s board “until this investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality”. A Fed spokesperson had no immediate comment on Blanche’s statements.
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