Trump threatens to fire Jerome Powell if he continues his position as Chairman of the Federal Reserve after his term ends

US federal prosecutors made an unannounced visit this week to a construction site at the headquarters of the US Federal Reserve, which is the focus of an investigation related to a $2.5 billion renovation project for one of the Federal Reserve’s buildings, according to two informed sources.

One of the sources said that two prosecutors and an investigator from US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office were denied entry yesterday, Tuesday, by a contractor at the construction site, and were directed to the Federal Reserve’s defense team.

The two sources familiar with the visit requested anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation.

A senior official in Attorney General Jeanine Pirro’s office acknowledged during a closed session before a federal judge last month that no evidence of a crime had been found during their investigation into the Federal Reserve headquarters project.

The investigation launched by the administration of US President Donald Trump faces bipartisan opposition in Congress, and has led to a delay in the Senate’s consideration of the nomination of Kevin Worsh, who was chosen by President Donald Trump for the position of Chairman of the Federal Reserve after the end of Jerome Powell’s term on May 15.

Robert Hoare, an attorney for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, sent an email to prosecutors in the Perot case about their visit and their request for a “tour” to “see the progress” of the construction site. In his letter, Hoare noted that US District Judge James Boasberg concluded that their interest in the Federal Reserve’s renewal project was a “pretext.”

“If you wish to appeal this decision, the courts provide you with a legal recourse; it is not appropriate for you to attempt to circumvent it,” Hoare wrote.

For his part, President Donald Trump renewed his threat to dismiss Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, if he decides to remain in his position as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Central Bank after his term ends next month.

In response to being reminded during an interview with Fox Business that aired Wednesday that Powell said he would not leave the Federal Reserve while the Justice Department investigates a $2.5 billion renovation project at the bank, Trump said, “Well, then I’m going to have to fire him, right?”

For months, Trump has been seeking to remove Powell from the presidency of the Federal Reserve, claiming that he was slow in reducing interest rates, which Trump believes will quickly revive the American economy. On the other hand, Powell said that the investigation is a pretext to undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve in setting interest rates.