{"id":5766,"date":"2026-04-03T03:40:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T03:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/03\/judicial-watch-sues-fed-for-grand-jury-subpoenas-tied-to-testimony-about-2-5-billion-headquarters-renovation\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T03:40:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T03:40:48","slug":"judicial-watch-sues-fed-for-grand-jury-subpoenas-tied-to-testimony-about-2-5-billion-headquarters-renovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/03\/judicial-watch-sues-fed-for-grand-jury-subpoenas-tied-to-testimony-about-2-5-billion-headquarters-renovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Judicial Watch Sues Fed for Grand Jury Subpoenas Tied to Testimony about $2.5 Billion Headquarters Renovation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>\t            <small class=\"post-date\"><\/p>\n<p>\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/press-releases\/\">Press Releases<\/a><br \/>\n\t<span class=\"datesource-spacer\">|<\/span><br \/>\n\t\tApril 02, 2026<\/p>\n<p><\/small><\/p>\n<div class=\"container-featured-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><b>(Washington, DC)<\/b> \u2013<a name=\"x_x__Hlk112162368\"\/> Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) <span data-ogsc=\"rgb(238, 0, 0)\"><a title=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/documents\/jw-v-fed-reserve-complaint-01113\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/documents\/jw-v-fed-reserve-complaint-01113\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"0\" data-ogsc=\"\">lawsuit<\/a> <\/span>against the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for failing to produce the <a title=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/13\/us-news\/federal-reserve-ignored-inquiries-into-powells-congressional-testimony-pirro\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/13\/us-news\/federal-reserve-ignored-inquiries-into-powells-congressional-testimony-pirro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"1\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(5, 99, 193)\">grand jury subpoenas<\/span><\/a> served in connection with allegations that Chairman Jerome H. Powell may have misled Congress about a $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project (<i><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(238, 0, 0)\"><a title=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/documents\/jw-v-fed-reserve-complaint-01113\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/documents\/jw-v-fed-reserve-complaint-01113\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"2\" data-ogsc=\"\">Judicial Watch Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System<\/a><\/span><\/i> (No. 1:26-cv-01113)).<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Federal Reserve failed to comply with Judicial Watch\u2019s January 26, 2026, FOIA request seeking access to the subpoenas issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">In a <a title=\"https:\/\/www.federalreserve.gov\/newsevents\/speech\/powell20260111a.htm\" href=\"https:\/\/www.federalreserve.gov\/newsevents\/speech\/powell20260111a.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"3\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(5, 99, 193)\">public statement<\/span><\/a> in January 2026, Powell disclosed that the Justice Department had served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas \u201cthreatening a criminal indictment\u201d related to his <a title=\"https:\/\/financialservices.house.gov\/calendar\/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=409746\" href=\"https:\/\/financialservices.house.gov\/calendar\/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=409746\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"4\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(5, 99, 193)\">June 2025<\/span><\/a> testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. That testimony addressed, in part, the multi-year renovation of the historic Marriner S. Eccles Building and the adjacent Federal Reserve East Building.<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">During his testimony, Powell denied the existence of luxury features such as private dining rooms, special elevators, rooftop gardens, and other high-end elements. The renovation project, originally estimated at approximately $1.9 billion, <a title=\"https:\/\/www.realclearinvestigations.com\/articles\/2023\/03\/29\/federal_reserve_office_renovations_cost_600_million_more_889404.html\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearinvestigations.com\/articles\/2023\/03\/29\/federal_reserve_office_renovations_cost_600_million_more_889404.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"5\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(5, 99, 193)\">has ballooned<\/span><\/a> to $2.5 billion amid questions about cost overruns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">In July 2025, U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) sent <a title=\"https:\/\/www.banking.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/chairman_scott_letter_on_federal_reserve_renovations_-_july_23_2025pdf.pdf\" href=\"https:\/\/www.banking.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/chairman_scott_letter_on_federal_reserve_renovations_-_july_23_2025pdf.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"6\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(5, 99, 193)\">a formal oversight letter<\/span><\/a>to Powell highlighting discrepancies between the testimony and approved renovation plans, raising concerns about transparency and accountability for the multi-billion-dollar project. The letter points out that previously approved plans by the National Capital Planning Commission appear to reference some of the luxury features\u2014raising questions about whether the plans changed, the features were removed, or the testimony was incomplete.<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">Trump administration officials, including then-Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, sharply criticized the renovation project. Vought sent <a title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WHOMB\/status\/1943380800390463840\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WHOMB\/status\/1943380800390463840\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"7\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(5, 99, 193)\">a letter <\/span><\/a>\u00a0to Powell on July 10, 2025, questioning the project\u2019s management and compliance with federal standards. Vought <a title=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/hassett-says-white-house-probing-fed-renovation-costs-authority-fire-powell-2025-07-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/hassett-says-white-house-probing-fed-renovation-costs-authority-fire-powell-2025-07-13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"8\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(5, 99, 193)\">publicly compared<\/span><\/a> aspects of the renovation to elements that belong in France\u2019s \u201cPalace of Versailles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">In March 2026, U.S. District Chief Judge James E. Boasberg <a title=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/business\/5783413-judge-quashes-powell-subpoenas\/\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/business\/5783413-judge-quashes-powell-subpoenas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"9\" data-ogsc=\"\"><span data-ogsc=\"rgb(5, 99, 193)\">nullified<\/span><\/a> the Justice Department grand jury subpoenas. Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, announced that her office would seek reconsideration and plans to appeal the ruling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">\u201cHiding grand jury subpoenas only deepens suspicions and erodes trust in our financial institutions,\u201d said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.<\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\" align=\"center\">###<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Press Releases | April 02, 2026 (Washington, DC) \u2013 Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for failing to produce the grand jury subpoenas served in connection with allegations that Chairman Jerome H. Powell may have misled Congress [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5766","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-conservative-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservative-politics.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}