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Blanche: DOJ won’t reopen investigation into Jerome Powell

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Cite

Carter, C. (2026, October 3). Blanche: DOJ won’t reopen investigation into Jerome Powell. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/4752908/blanche-doj-wont-reopen-investigation-jerome-powell/

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Washington Examiner · collected 2026-10-03 · by Claire Carter

Quick Summary

Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Friday that the Justice Department will not reopen its criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell regarding the multibillion-dollar headquarters renovation project. Based on an internal watchdog report released earlier this week, which found significant management issues but no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or administrative misconduct in the $2.4 billion renovation, Blanche stated there would be no immediate further action. However, he noted that if new information emerges from an independent audit of construction costs, the DOJ could investigate again.
Written by AI on 2026-10-03, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

US Justice Department announced on Friday that it would not reopen a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell, former chair of the Federal Reserve, regarding cost overruns in the central bank’s building renovation project. The decision came after the Fed's inspector general released a report concluding no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or administrative misconduct but noting significant oversight issues. Attorney General Todd Blanche told Bloomberg News that while the department was not reopening an investigation currently, it could reconsider if new evidence emerged. Powell has stayed on as a governor at the Fed since stepping down from his role as chair in May. His successor, Kevin Warsh, said he would hire an independent auditor to review all costs associated with the project.

Written for “DoJ Declines Powell Investigation” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 DoJ Declines Powell Investigation
Crime & Law · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian
Hedges 2 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 3 of 39 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different developments related to the investigation into Jerome Powell, not the same specific incident.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 0 of 29 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss Jerome Powell and the conclusion of an investigation into the Federal Reserve's headquarters renovation, Article B focuses more on critiquing Powell's performance as Fed Chair rather than just reporting on the DOJ decision.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
2 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
70/100
Washington Examiner's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-03 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Washington Examiner · 3814 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Claire Carter
122 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Claire Carter
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 122 articles by Claire Carter →

Topics

Bloomberg DOJ Fed Federal Reserve the Justice Department

Subjects

Powell PERSON · 7× Blanche PERSON · 5× Fed ORG · 5× DOJ ORG · 2× Trump PERSON · 2× Bloomberg ORG · 1× Federal Reserve ORG · 1× Jerome Powell PERSON · 1× Todd Blanche PERSON · 1× the Justice Department ORG · 1×

Narrative

“We’re not reopening a criminal investigation into him,” Blanche told Bloomberg in an interview Friday, closing off the possibility that prosecutors would revive the investigation into Powell over the Fed’s multibillion-dollar headquarters renovation, at least for now.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-03
🔮 Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday that the Justice Department will not open its criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell following the release of an internal watchdog report that found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
2026-10-03 · Washington Examiner
Blanche: DOJ won’t reopen investigation into Jerome Powell · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 2 hedged)

Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday that the Justice Department will not open its criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell following the release of an internal watchdog report that found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. asserted
that → say → wrongdoing
“We’re not reopening a criminal investigation into him,” Blanche told Bloomberg in an interview Friday, closing off the possibility that prosecutors would revive the investigation into Powell over the Fed’s multibillion-dollar headquarters renovation, at least for now. asserted
prosecutors → reopen → renovation
Blanche said he was satisfied with the findings of the central bank”s inspector general, which released a report this week examining the roughly $2.4 billion renovation project. asserted
which → say → project
The watchdog found significant shortcomings in the Fed’s management and oversight of the project but no evidence warranting a criminal referral or finding of administrative misconduct. asserted
watchdog → find → misconduct
The attorney general, however, left open the possibility of future action if new evidence emerges. asserted
evidence → leave → action
The Fed has said it will bring in an independent auditor to scrutinize the construction cost, and Blanche said the DOJ could investigate if that review uncovers evidence of wrongdoing. uncertain
review → say → wrongdoing
“I expect there will be an auditing process,” Blanche said. asserted
Blanche → expect → ?
“If they learn anything that rises to any kind of criminal misconduct, you better believe we’re going to investigate that.” asserted
we → learn → that
President Donald Trump and Powell had clashed over how the renovations were managed, as well as Powell’s repeated decision not to lower interest rates. asserted
renovations → clash → rates
As the feud developed, Trump railed against Powell for the project’s price tag, saying the project had become over $1 billion more expensive than its initial estimate. asserted
project → develop → estimate
Powell announced in January that the DOJ was investigating him following allegations that he lied in a 2025 Senate testimony regarding renovations to the Fed buildings. asserted
he → announce → buildings
Prosecutors later dropped the inquiry after it caused a rift in Trump’s pick to lead the central bank, Kevin Warsh, being confirmed. asserted
it → drop → bank
The possibility of reopening the investigation resurfaced after the inspector general released its findings asserted
general → reopen → findings
The president said he had asked Blanche to study the report and “make a determination as to what to do” about the cost overruns. asserted
he → say → overruns
He said that Powell should be forced to resign from the Fed. asserted
Powell → say → Fed
Powell’s term as chairman ended on May 15, while his term as a board member runs until 2028. uncertain
term → end → 2028
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