A federal judge in Washington on Friday blocked Justice Department subpoenas sent to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, finding the government had failed to produce evidence supporting its criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
In an unsealed opinion, Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said there was “abundant evidence” the subpoenas were intended to pressure Powell to either lower interest rates or step aside. He wrote that the government had produced “essentially zero evidence” that Powell committed a crime.
The dispute stems from a Justice Department investigation tied to Powell’s June 2025 testimony before the Senate Banking Committee about cost overruns in the Federal Reserve’s long-running headquarters renovation project. According to the Federal Reserve, Powell disclosed in January that the Fed had received grand jury subpoenas connected to that testimony and said the probe was politically motivated.
Boasberg said the government’s justification for the subpoenas was so weak that the court could only conclude it was pretextual. He also wrote that the broader record suggested the investigation was launched to pressure Powell, who has faced repeated attacks from President Donald Trump over the Fed’s refusal to cut interest rates more aggressively.
At a press conference, Acting U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro condemned the ruling and said the Justice Department would appeal. Pirro said, “The judge has neutered the grand jury’s ability to investigate crime. As a result, Jerome Powell today is now bathed in immunity preventing my office from investigating the Federal Reserve. This is wrong and it is without legal authority.”
The investigation has not produced criminal charges. CBS News reported that prosecutors had been examining whether Powell made false statements or committed fraud in connection with his congressional testimony about the renovation project.
The ruling quickly drew support from some Republicans on Capitol Hill. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, said in a post on X that the decision showed the case was weak and frivolous and amounted to a failed attack on the Fed’s independence.
The case grew out of political scrutiny over the Fed’s costly renovation project, which Trump allies and some congressional Republicans have criticized as excessive. Powell defended the project in Senate testimony last year and said some public descriptions of it were inaccurate. The Federal Reserve has said it does not rely on taxpayer funds.
The subpoenas are blocked for now, but Pirro said the Justice Department will appeal, extending a legal fight that has intensified questions about political pressure on the central bank.
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