Justice Department rules out reopening its criminal case against Powell
Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department would not restart its investigation of the former Fed chair over the central bank's renovation costs.
Assembled by Claude from 7 sources at 7 outlets · Saturday, October 3, 2026, Evening edition, 5:28 PM EDT · no human byline
What happened
Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday that the Justice Department would not reopen its criminal investigation of former Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, the Wall Street Journal reported wsj.com. The Washington Examiner carried the same account of Blanche's remarks washingtonexaminer.com. Anadolu Agency reported that Blanche said "We're not reopening a criminal investigation", and that the matter concerned cost overruns related to the central bank's building renovation project aa.com.tr. Axios described the closed inquiry as covering the central bank's costly renovation axios.com. Forex Factory reported the decision in the same terms, tying it to the renovation rather than to any monetary policy question forexfactory.com.
The Guardian's report used the phrase "well and truly over" to describe the investigation, in an excerpt that is cut off before the speaker is identified theguardian.com. None of the available excerpts sets out what prompted the department to decide against a second look, or whether any civil or administrative review of the renovation continues wsj.comtheguardian.comaxios.com.
Why it matters to investors
Powell is still inside the central bank. US News reported that he has remained at the Fed as a governor since stepping down as chair in May usnews.com. The decision therefore lifts a criminal threat from a serving member of the Board of Governors, not from a private citizen usnews.comwsj.com.
The case arose from a construction budget rather than from an interest rate decision aa.com.traxios.com. That is the part worth holding on to: an inquiry opened over renovation costs reached a sitting governor, and has now been dropped by the same department that opened it aa.com.trwsj.comforexfactory.com. The sources here report no statement from Powell himself, and none from the Fed as an institution, on the decision wsj.comtheguardian.comwashingtonexaminer.comaa.com.trusnews.com.
What to watch
The first question is whether Powell now serves out his term as governor. US News noted that his successor as chair, Kevin Warsh, spoke on Thursday, although the excerpt available does not carry what he said usnews.com.
The second is whether the decision is final in substance as well as in wording. Forex Factory and Axios both present it as the end of the department's interest in the renovation forexfactory.comaxios.com, while the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Examiner report the decision itself without any stated condition attached to it wsj.comwashingtonexaminer.com. Anadolu's quotation is narrow, covering the criminal investigation specifically aa.com.tr. On the evidence in these reports, the overhang on the Fed's board has been removed by prosecutorial discretion rather than by a finding on the facts of the renovation aa.com.trtheguardian.comwsj.com.
Sources
- wsj.com: Justice Department Rules Out Reopening Powell Probe - WSJ (2026-10-02)
- theguardian.com: DoJ declines to reopen investigation into former Fed chair Jay Powell - The Guardian (2026-10-02)
- washingtonexaminer.com: Blanche: DOJ won't reopen investigation into Jerome Powell - Washington Examiner (2026-10-03)
- aa.com.tr: US attorney general says Justice Department not reopening criminal probe into Fed's Powell (2026-10-02)
- usnews.com: DOJ Will Not Reopen Criminal Probe Into Fed's Powell, Spokesperson Says - USNews.com (2026-10-03)
- axios.com: DOJ says it won't reopen probe into Fed's Powell - Axios (2026-10-03)
- forexfactory.com: DOJ says it will not reopen criminal probe into former Fed Chair Powell | Forex Factory (2026-10-03)