NEW YORK, April 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Department of Justice Friday dropped its controversial investigation targeting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, paving the way for confirming Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair in the Senate.
"I have directed my office to close our investigation" as the Inspector General (IG) for the Federal Reserve undertakes this inquiry, said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro in a post on social media on Friday.
The IG has been asked to scrutinize "the building costs overruns -- in the billions of dollars -- that have been borne by taxpayers," said Pirro.
"The IG has the authority to hold the Federal Reserve accountable to American taxpayers. I expect a comprehensive report in short order and am confident the outcome will assist in resolving, once and for all, the questions that led this office to issue subpoenas," she said.
But she warned that she "will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so."
"American taxpayers deserve answers about the Federal Reserve's fiscal mismanagement, and the Office of the Inspector General's more powerful authorities best position it to get to the bottom of the matter," White House spokesman Kush Desai also said in a post on social media on Friday.
The federal prosecutors launched an investigation into Powell over the central bank's multi-billion-U.S. dollar project to renovate its Washington headquarters in January.
However, a judge from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently blocked two subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve from federal prosecutors.
"There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas' dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will," said James E. Boasberg, chief judge of the court, in a March ruling.
"The White House remains as confident as before that the Senate will swiftly confirm Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chairman to finally restore competence and confidence in Fed decision-making," Desai said after the probe was dropped.
Powell's term as Fed chair ends on May 15, but he said he would remain in the position until his successor is confirmed. ■
