A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice told CNBC that the department will not reinstate the criminal investigation against former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The investigation is related to a multimillion-dollar, budget-overrunning renovation project at the Federal Reserve headquarters.
"We will not reinstate the criminal investigation against him," Branch said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday.
However, Branch did not rule out the possibility of the Department of Justice taking action in the future during the interview. He told the media that if an independent audit of the renovation project finds evidence of criminal misconduct, it could lead to an investigation.
Just a few days ago, the Federal Reserve's Ombudsman stated that there was no reasonable basis to believe that a federal crime had been committed, and therefore there was no need to refer the matter to the Attorney General. At the same time, this regulatory agency also criticized the Federal Reserve for significant management and oversight failures in this project, which led to a substantial increase in project costs.
After the news broke, U.S. President Donald Trump posted a statement on Truth Social on Wednesday, vehemently criticizing this decision and stating that Powell "should at the very least" be "forced to resign" from his position on the Federal Reserve Board.
Trump said, "If he can't manage even a single building, then of course he shouldn't be allowed to manage his high-interest-rate policies (which are only aimed at ‘Trump!’)."
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