Name: White House denies Trump directed Justice Dept. to investigate Powell
Uploaded: 2026-01-13T00:22:46.882Z
Duration: 4 min 1 s
Description: The Justice Department is investigating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, sparking outcry from lawmakers across both sides of the aisle.

The Justice Department is investigating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, sparking outcry from lawmakers across both sides of the aisle.

Washington

The Justice Department is investigating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, issuing subpoenas related to his testimony about renovations at the Fed's Washington headquarters. Powell has stated that the investigation is part of broader pressure from the administration, but he intends to continue in his role despite months of criticism from President Trump regarding interest rate policy.

White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt denied that President Trump directed the investigation, emphasizing the president's right to criticize Powell but leaving the matter of criminality to the DOJ. Legal experts note that such investigations are rare without a congressional referral, and the situation has prompted debate over potential political motivations and the future composition of the Federal Reserve.

White House denies Trump directed Justice Dept. to investigate Powell

Hello and thank you for joining us. The Justice Department is investigating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Powell said in a video message last night that the DOJ served multiple grand jury subpoenas to the Fed on Friday. He says those subpoenas focus on testimony he gave last year about ongoing renovations to the Fed office building in Washington. However, Powell also believes there is more going on. No one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve, is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public rather than following the preferences of the president. Powell says he will continue serving in his post despite the investigation and despite months of criticism from President Trump. The president has repeatedly urged Powell and the Fed to sharply lower interest rates. Earlier CBS News' Weijia Jiang asked White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt if President Trump had a role in the investigation. Did the president ever direct DOJ officials to open an investigation into Powell? No. The president has every right to criticize the Fed chair. He is a first amendment right just like all of you do. And one thing for sure the president's made it quite clear is Jerome Powell is bad at his job. As for whether or not Jerome Powell is a criminal, that's an answer the Department of Justice is going to have to find out. CBS News Chief Legal Correspondent Jan Crawford joins us now. Jan, what do we know about the testimony here that's being honed in on? And why are we learning about the existence of an investigation without charges to begin with? Well, I mean, this stems, I think, from Powell's testimony back in the summer, last summer in June before the Senate Banking Committee, when he appeared to answer questions about that renovation. It's the two of the Fed's headquarters. He said there are these old historic buildings woefully out of date. They're leaking. But he said there's, you know, no new marble. There's no special elevators. There are old elevators that have been there. But that $2.5 billion price tag, I mean, that has clearly irked President Trump. He said that Powell is a bad builder. And he suggested last year that maybe they would try to sue him. But now he is saying that he doesn't know anything about this presumed criminal investigation, I assume, into maybe alleged false statements to Congress. And he said that is not how he would have gone about it. The White House denies that President Trump directed this investigation, but he has been critical of Powell. He wants to replace him. How remarkable were Powell's comments in this moment? Well, I mean, they were highly remarkable, and that's how we found out about the investigation. But I think what's even more remarkable is this investigation. I mean, ordinarily, the Justice Department just doesn't start looking into potential allegations of perjury in congressional testimony, unless there's been a referral from Congress or Congress has asked them to look into it. It's not something the U.S. attorney would just kind of pick up on their own. And I think that really signals there is politics going on here, as Powell is arguing. And then, of course, it raises the question of, is this all going to backfire? What was the point of all of this? Remember, Powell is only chairman until May. He does have the option to stay on for two more years as a Federal Reserve governor. But many people are now telling me that they think this may encourage Powell to just stay on for those next two years. He has the option of doing that, as I said, in a way of kind of trying to deny Trump another vacancy on the Federal Reserve. And, also, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments next week in a major case over whether Trump can fire another governor on the Federal Reserve. Lisa Cooke, he's trying to fire her. Courts have blocked that. The timing of this, again, it suggests it's something that could potentially really backfire on the president. And to what end? We see members of Congress, Republicans, criticizing this, saying that, even if there were to be a vacancy, that they would block anyone until all of these issues are resolved. Jan Crawford, thank you.

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