DOJ Drops the Powell Probe It Never Had Evidence For — Clearing the Way to Replace Him

On April 24, 2026, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office closed the criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The probe — which a federal judge had already called pretextual, based on "essentially zero evidence," and designed solely to "harass and pressure Powell" — is over.

The stated reason: Pirro said the Fed's inspector general will instead investigate cost overruns of the central bank's multi-billion-dollar headquarters renovation. That was always the only tangible thing the DOJ could point to — "1.2 billion reasons to look into it," as the prosecutor said in the sealed hearing where he admitted he had no evidence of any crime by Powell.

The full arc

1. 2025: Trump spends months publicly attacking Powell for not lowering interest rates fast enough — over 100 documented public statements
2. January 2026: DOJ opens criminal investigation of Powell. Grand jury subpoenas issued.
3. March 3, 2026: In a sealed hearing, DOJ prosecutor George Massucco-LaTaif admits he has no evidence of any crime: "Well, we don't know is my first answer"
4. March 13, 2026: Chief Judge James Boasberg quashes the subpoenas: "The Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President."
5. March 24, 2026: Sealed hearing transcript published — Pirro calls the judge "activist," vows to appeal
6. April 24, 2026: Pirro drops the probe entirely. No charges. No evidence. No crime.

Why it was dropped now

The timing is not subtle. Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina had placed an effective hold on Kevin Warsh's confirmation as Fed Chair — Trump's chosen replacement for Powell — unless the criminal investigation was dropped first. Tillis's position: you cannot criminally investigate the person you want to replace while simultaneously confirming the replacement.

So Pirro dropped the probe. Not because there was never evidence (there wasn't — the judge said so). Not because the investigation was political (it was — the judge said so). But because it was blocking what Trump actually wanted: getting Warsh confirmed.

The investigation served its purpose: it pressured Powell, it signaled to every future Fed chair what happens if you set rates based on economics rather than presidential demands, and it gave Trump months of leverage. Now that it's become an obstacle to the real objective — replacing Powell with someone more pliable — it's been discarded.

The probe was opened with no evidence, sustained with no evidence, rebuked by a federal judge for having no evidence, and closed with no charges — exactly as designed. The damage it was built to inflict was never a conviction. It was the investigation itself.