Justice Dept. served subpoenas to the Fed, Powell says

The Federal Reserve connected Friday received expansive assemblage subpoenas from the Justice Department stemming from a criminal probe into its chair, Jerome Powell, helium said successful a video connection connected Sunday.

The subpoenas threatened a transgression indictment related to Powell's grounds earlier the Senate Banking Committee successful June 2025, according to Powell. 

"That grounds acrophobic successful portion a multi-year task to renovate historical Federal Reserve bureau buildings," Powell said.

Video connection from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell: https://t.co/5dfrkByGyX pic.twitter.com/O4ecNaYaGH

— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve) January 12, 2026

The task and Powell's grounds past twelvemonth came nether scrutiny of the Trump administration, with Office of Management and Budget Chair Russell Vought accusing Powell of starring an "ostentatious" bureau renovation task that whitethorn beryllium "violating the law."  

In his grounds to the Senate, Powell called immoderate descriptions of the renovation task "misleading and inaccurate." He told lawmakers determination isn't immoderate caller marble speech from what's indispensable to regenerate breached aged marble, and said determination are nary "special elevators," caller h2o features oregon rooftop gardens, disputing claims made by Vought.

"I person heavy respect for the regularisation of instrumentality and for accountability successful our democracy. No 1 — surely not the seat of the Federal Reserve — is supra the law," Powell said Sunday. "But this unprecedented enactment should beryllium seen successful the broader discourse of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure."

"This caller menace is not astir my grounds past June oregon astir the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. It is not astir Congress' oversight role; the Fed, done grounds and different nationalist disclosures, made each effort to support Congress informed astir the renovation project. Those are pretexts. The menace of transgression charges is simply a effect of the Federal Reserve mounting involvement rates based connected our champion appraisal of what volition service the public, alternatively than pursuing the preferences of the president," Powell said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said Attorney General Pam Bondi "has instructed her U.S. Attorneys to prioritize investigating immoderate maltreatment of taxation payer dollars," but did not notation to immoderate circumstantial case.

Powell was archetypal nominated arsenic Fed seat by Mr. Trump during his archetypal term, replacing Obama appointee Janet Yellen, and the Senate confirmed him in an 84-13 vote. Former President Joe Biden nominated him to a 2nd term, keeping him successful bureau until May 2026.

For months past year, Mr. Trump expressed his unhappiness with the Fed's determination to permission involvement rates stable. The president argued that ostentation was already debased capable to commencement cutting rates. It wasn't until precocious 2025 that the Fed started cutting rates.

The president has repeatedly threatened to occurrence Powell, including arsenic recently arsenic past month.

Closing retired his connection Sunday, Powell said, "I person served astatine the Federal Reserve nether 4 administrations, Republicans and Democrats alike. In each case, I person carried retired my duties without governmental fearfulness oregon favor, focused solely connected our mandate of terms stableness and maximum employment ... I volition proceed to bash the occupation the Senate confirmed maine to do, with integrity and a committedness to serving the American people."