Jeanine Pirro may not be quite done with Jerome Powell, the New York Times reports. The US attorney in Washington said Sunday that prosecutors could revisit a shelved criminal inquiry into the Federal Reserve chair if an ongoing internal audit turns up signs of wrongdoing tied to a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed's headquarters. Pirro's case, launched amid President Trump's public pressure on Powell to cut interest rates, centers on whether Powell misled Congress about the project. But a federal judge in March blocked key grand jury subpoenas, calling them an effort to "harass and pressure" Powell to either bow to the president or step aside.
Pirro dropped the case last month after GOP Sen. Thom Tillis threatened to stall confirmation of Trump's preferred replacement, Kevin Warsh, unless prosecutors backed off. Tillis on Sunday warned the Justice Department not to reopen the probe without new evidence, saying "there was no crime committed." Pirro had originally vowed to appeal the judge's order quashing her subpoenas, but on Sunday, she appeared to downgrade that vow, saying only that she would make a motion to vacate the order, CNBC reports. Still, "I want to see what's there. If there's something there, great. And if there isn't, I will go home," Pirro told CNN Sunday of the internal probe. She said the central bank's inspector general is leading the audit, the Hill reports.
Powell's term as chair ends May 15, but he plans to remain on the Fed's board, a move Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized as breaking "all norms." If Powell ultimately exits, Trump would have another chance to install a more compliant Fed governor, even as the Supreme Court weighs how far his power to reshape the central bank can go—the high court has not yet ruled on whether Trump's firing of Fed governor Lisa Cook was legal.
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