Pirro aides try to ‘tour’ the Fed’s renovations as probe stalls

Prosecutors working for Jeannine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., made an unannounced visit to the Federal Reserve headquarters on Tuesday.

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Three officials from Pirro’s office arrived at the construction site of the Fed headquarters in downtown Washington and said they wanted a “tour,” Robert Hur, the central bank’s outside counsel, told Pirro’s office in an email viewed by NBC News.

Pirro’s deputies also said they wanted to “check on progress” in the renovation of the historic Fed buildings overlooking the National Mall, which has been going on for years, Hur said.

Hur said in his Tuesday email that investigators had been turned away from the site. The attempted visit was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The surprise move by Pirro’s office comes as its investigation into Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony to Congress last year about the Fed’s overhaul plan is quickly losing steam.

The investigation was first made public in January, when Powell announced that subpoenas had been served on the central bank.

“The threat of criminal prosecution 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 president’s preferences,” Powell said in a video statement Sunday evening.

On March 13, Judge James Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of Powell.

In a ruling, Boasberg blocked subpoenas Pirro’s office had issued to the Fed, saying “the government has produced virtually no evidence to suspect Chairman Powell of a crime.”

On Tuesday, Hur highlighted Boasberg’s decision in his email.

“As you know, Chief Justice Boasberg concluded that your interest in the Federal Reserve Renovation Project was pretextual,” he wrote.

“If you wish to challenge this finding, the courts provide you with an avenue; it is not appropriate for you to attempt to circumvent it.”

Pirro lost a second attempt to revive the quashed subpoenas on April 3. His office could appeal to a higher court, but has not yet done so.

Hur concluded: “I ask that you agree not to seek to communicate with my client outside of the presence of an attorney. »

Pirro suggested in a statement Tuesday evening that investigators were correct in attempting to inspect the renovation project despite the judge’s ruling.

“Any construction project whose costs exceed the original construction budget by nearly 80% deserves serious consideration,” she said. “And these people are in charge of monetary policy in the United States?

But the most immediate effect of Tuesday’s visit will be to further complicate the Senate confirmation process for Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to succeed Powell.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he would not vote to nominate Warsh to the Senate Banking Committee until the Justice Department drops its investigation into Powell and the renovations.

But in a coincidence that has already raised eyebrows among some in Washington, Pirro’s team visited on the same day the banking committee announced the date of Warsh’s confirmation hearing, next Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, committee Chairman Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said he was “very confident that the DOJ will conclude this very soon.”

“All the evidence I’ve seen, all the fingers are pointing in the direction of a conclusion in the next few weeks,” Scott said on Fox Business Network.

Yet as of Tuesday evening, Warsh’s confirmation vote was still blocked.

“Kevin is a perfect candidate, and that’s why it’s so frustrating that someone at the DOJ decided in February that maybe he was going to curry favor with someone at the White House by trying to open a criminal investigation against Jerome Powell,” Tillis told NBC News in an interview, also Tuesday.

“I don’t want to reward bad behavior,” Tillis added. “Acknowledge that there is not enough evidence to pursue a criminal investigation, end it and I will vote for Kevin Warsh.”

Late Tuesday, Tillis posted a photo of the Three Stooges on social media with the caption “Washington U.S. Attorney’s Office at the scene of the crime.”