A federal judge on Friday blocked subpoenas that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) served the Federal Reserve in a case involving Jerome Powell’s Congressional testimony on the central bank’s headquarters renovation, concluding the effort appeared designed to “harass and pressure” him to lower interest rates or resign from his position.
The DOJ served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas in January, threatening a criminal indictment over Powell. His testimony was about the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of its D.C. headquarters, but Powell said in a video when receiving the subpoenas that concern about the renovation was just a pretext.
Judge James Boasberg agreed. “There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will,” Boasberg said in his memorandum opinion.
“On the other side of the scale, the Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President. The Court must thus conclude that the asserted justifications for these subpoenas are mere pretexts.”
Boasberg granted a motion from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to quash the subpoenas. The case was heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
A spokesperson said the Fed had nothing to share beyond the judge’s decision.
Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, criticized the ruling during a press conference Friday, calling Boasberg “an activist judge” and arguing the decision undermines the DOJ’s ability to investigate potential crimes.
“He has neutered the grand jury’s ability to investigate crime,” Pirro said. “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,” Pirro said.
Pirro said the DOJ plans to appeal this “outrageous” decision.
The DOJ began investigating Powell in November 2025 over alleged discrepancies in his Senate testimony about more than $1 billion in cost overruns tied to renovations of the Fed’s headquarters, Pirro said. She added that prosecutors attempted multiple times to request documents and meetings with the Fed but received no response, prompting them to issue two grand jury subpoenas in January.
Trump began urging Powell to cut interest rates shortly after taking office. In July 2025, Trump told Republican lawmakers he would ““likely” fire Powell soon. The administration also targeted other members of the central bank, including when he attempted to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook in August. Amid the mounting pressure campaign by the White House, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler resigned and was replaced by Stephen Miran.
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