Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the Hoover Institution’s George P. Shulz Memorial Lecture Series in Stanford, California, December 1, 2025.
Jason Henry | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Fed has not yet responded to a grand jury subpoena issued by federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., as part of a criminal investigation into Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC on Wednesday.
The investigation into Mr. Powell continues, said the person, who spoke hours before the Fed announced its decision to hold interest rates.
Powell said on January 11 that he was under criminal investigation. The investigation is being conducted by the office of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.
It’s unclear when the Fed will have to produce the documents requested in the subpoena.
CNBC has reached out to the Federal Reserve and the Department of Justice for comment.
Speaking to reporters late Wednesday, Chairman Powell was asked whether the Fed had responded to the subpoena.
Mr. Powell responded, “I have nothing to say about that today.”
Powell said on January 11 that the Justice Department had just days earlier submitted to the Fed “a grand jury subpoena threatening criminal charges in connection with my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June” regarding plans to spend $2.5 billion to renovate the central bank’s headquarters.
Powell also said the investigation stemmed from President Donald Trump’s frustration with the Fed’s refusal last year to cut interest rates as quickly and as deeply as the president had hoped.
“The threat of criminal charges is the result of the Fed setting interest rates based on its best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the wishes of the president,” Powell said in a video statement tweeted on the Fed’s X account.
