(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to order the Federal Reserve to release two grand jury subpoenas issued in connection with a criminal investigation involving Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell and the $2.5 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters.
Judicial Watch filed an April 2026 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Federal Reserve failed to comply with Judicial Watch’s January 2026 FOIA request seeking access to the subpoenas issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (No. 1:26-cv-01113)).
The Federal Reserve is asking the court to grant it summary judgment and uphold its withholding of the subpoenas under FOIA Exemption 5. In a memorandum filed August 17, Judicial Watch opposed the Board’s motion and filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, arguing that Exemption 5 does not apply because the records are not internal Federal Reserve deliberations but grand jury subpoenas that the Board received and possesses. Judicial Watch is asking the court to reject the Board’s position and order the release of the records.
Judicial Watch argues:
Grand jury subpoenas are compulsory process, not inter-agency or intra-agency communications.
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The Board’s own conduct defeats its position. The Board did not request these subpoenas, did not consult with the prosecutors who served them, and received them in no advisory capacity whatsoever. It retained outside counsel and moved to quash them.
The Board’s own words remove any doubt. It told the Chief Judge that the purpose of the subpoenas was “to harass, pressure, and punish” the Federal Reserve and Chair Powell until they set monetary policy as the President wished, and that the United States Attorney’s Office had proceeded by “abuse of the criminal process.” … As described by the Board, the subpoenas were not created to assist it in any way whatsoever.
In a public statement in January 2026, Powell disclosed that the Justice Department had served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas “threatening a criminal indictment” related to his June 2025 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.
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, ballooned to $2.5 billion amid questions about cost overruns.
In July 2025, U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) sent a formal oversight letter 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—raising questions about whether the plans changed, the features were removed, or the testimony was incomplete.
Trump administration officials, including then-Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, sharply criticized the renovation project. Vought sent a letter to Powell on July 10, 2025, questioning the project’s management and compliance with federal standards. Vought publicly compared aspects of the renovation to elements that belong in France’s “Palace of Versailles.”
“The Federal Reserve is hiding grand jury subpoenas about potential crimes and public corruption from the American people. These are not internal deliberations—they are legal process served on the Fed,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The Board should stop stonewalling and release the records.”
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