U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro doubled down on her investigation of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, even as the controversial investigation jeopardizes the confirmation of Kevin Wersh, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace central bank Chairman Jerome Powell.
The criminal investigation focuses on alleged cost overruns associated with the ongoing renovation of two historic Fed buildings in Washington. Powell has accused the DOJ of targeting him for refusing to comply with Trump’s demand that the Fed sharply lower interest rates.
The investigation has raised concerns about the Fed’s independence from executive-branch interference – so much so that Senator Thom Tillis, R-N.C. has vowed to block Warsh’s nomination until the DOJ rescinds it.
At a news conference Wednesday morning, Pirro said she would not back down.
“That building cost more than a billion dollars. That investigation is ongoing,” Pirro said.
“I am on the legal path. There are also people who are on the political path. I do not intersect those two paths,” she said.
Pirro’s efforts hit a major hurdle last month when a federal judge blocked grand jury subpoenas, writing that “a mountain of evidence” suggests they were issued to pressure the Fed’s board.
The judge, James Boasberg, stuck to his decision in early April, and started a countdown for Pirro to file an appeal on May 4.
“I’m moving forward. We’re appealing Judge Boasberg’s decision,” Pirro said Wednesday.
“The idea that a judge can stand at the door of a grand jury and say to the prosecutor, ‘You are not allowed to go in,’ when the United States Supreme Court has said you can go to a grand jury based on hearsay and suspicion, is an order that we think should be appealed, and we are continuing in this investigation.”
Trump, who appointed Powell in 2017 but has since soured on the Fed chair, has said the DOJ investigation should continue, while he has overstated the cost of the Fed renewal.
“We have to figure out why a small building costs nearly $4 billion,” Trump told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday morning. “Somehow we have to figure out how this could happen.”
The actual cost is approximately $2.5 billion.
Boasberg rejected Pirro’s offer on 3 April. Reconsider His preliminary ruling triggered a 30-day countdown for the government to file a notice of appeal, according to DOJ manual.
Wersch’s nomination to replace Powell, whose term as Fed chair ends on May 15, must first be approved by the Senate Banking Committee. Tillis, a member of the Banking Committee, has repeatedly said that unless the DOJ closes its investigation of Powell, he will block Warsh from pursuing it.
The Banking Committee held its confirmation hearing with Warsh on Tuesday, and the nominee met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Wednesday.
Since the Senate is out the week of May 4, the committee may get its first chance to vote on Warsh’s nomination during the week of May 11.