U.S. DOJ Will Not Reopen Criminal Investigation Into Powell
nashnova research
Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed Friday the DOJ will not reopen a criminal investigation into former Fed Chair Jerome Powell over cost overruns in the Fed headquarters renovation. The move removes a direct judicial threat to Fed independence — for now.
What happened?
Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a Friday interview that the DOJ will not reopen its criminal probe into Powell.
The investigation had centred on cost overruns in the renovation of the Federal Reserve's headquarters building.
In plain terms = this was never about monetary policy — it was a dispute over how much a building remodel cost.
Why does it matter?
A criminal probe into a sitting or former Fed chair is extraordinarily rare — launching one challenges the baseline of central-bank independence.
This means → even when the stated reason is administrative, markets read it as political pressure on the Fed.
Blanche's explicit "no reopening" effectively closes the book on that pressure from the DOJ side.
What does it signal for markets?
Short-term positive for Fed-independence expectations: the judicial overhang is removed, freeing the Fed's policy space from this distraction.
This reflects the current administration choosing to de-escalate rather than intensify its stance toward the Fed.
One caveat: Blanche said "not reopen" — he did not rule out future action on different grounds.
市场有风险，内容仅供研究参考，不构成投资建议。