WASHINGTON—The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to vacate a prior ruling that blocked grand jury subpoenas issued in its investigation of Jerome Powell, marking the latest procedural step after prosecutors moved to close the case, American Banker reported.
The motion, filed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, seeks to nullify a March decision by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg that quashed two subpoenas tied to the probe into Powell’s statements to Congress about Federal Reserve building renovations, American Banker said.
Prosecutors opted not to appeal the ruling and instead asked the court to vacate it, arguing the decision could constrain future investigations and raise broader constitutional concerns about executive authority, even as the underlying case has been dropped.
The investigation—focused on cost overruns at the Fed’s headquarters project—has effectively been closed, clearing the way for Senate consideration of Powell’s successor, though officials said the matter could be revisited depending on findings from an ongoing Federal Reserve inspector general review, American Banker said.