DOJ Won't Reopen Criminal Probe of Powell, Trump Ally Blanche Says

Jerome Powell's legal exposure narrowed considerably this week when Trump's attorney Todd Blanche announced that the Department of Justice would not reopen a criminal investigation into the former Federal Reserve chair. The decision closes what had been a potential legal vulnerability for Powell, who led the central bank through two presidencies and became a flashpoint in Trump's second transition to power.

The criminal probe had centered on Powell's handling of Federal Reserve building renovations—a project that ballooned in scope and cost in ways that drew scrutiny from multiple quarters. Trump had seized on the renovation mismanagement as evidence that Powell was unfit to lead the institution, at one point suggesting Powell should be forced to resign. The former president's public criticism of the Fed chair had raised questions about whether the incoming administration might weaponize federal law enforcement to pursue Powell once Trump returned to office.

A watchdog investigation into the Fed's renovation project had already found significant mishandling. The report documented how the central bank's leadership failed to adequately oversee the work, allowing costs to spiral and timelines to slip. These findings gave Trump a factual foundation for his attacks on Powell's competence, even as they fell short of establishing criminal wrongdoing. The renovation fiasco became emblematic, in Trump's telling, of a broader dysfunction at the Fed that justified Powell's removal.

Blanche's announcement that the DOJ would not pursue charges represents a notable constraint on executive power during a presidential transition. Despite Trump's public animus toward Powell and his control of the Justice Department, the administration chose not to open a criminal investigation into the former Fed chair. The decision suggests either that career prosecutors found insufficient evidence of criminal conduct, or that political leadership determined the reputational cost of such a prosecution would outweigh its benefits.

The outcome leaves Powell without the legal jeopardy that had shadowed his final months at the Fed. While his tenure had already ended and his successor was in place, a criminal investigation would have cast a long shadow over his post-Fed life and legacy. The DOJ's decision to forgo prosecution means Powell can move forward without facing the prospect of indictment or trial.

The episode illuminates the fragile boundary between legitimate oversight of federal institutions and the use of law enforcement as a political tool. Powell's case presented a test: would a president use the machinery of criminal justice to punish a Fed chair whose policies he disliked? The answer, at least in this instance, was no. Whether that restraint reflects institutional guardrails, political calculation, or simply the absence of prosecutable conduct remains an open question—one that will likely shape how future administrations approach conflicts with the central bank.