Trump administration's Federal Reserve HQ probe escalates with unannounced site visit by prosecutors

After speaking with construction workers, two prosecutors from the USADC were reportedly turned away and told they could not be permitted access because they had not gotten preauthorized clearance, the Wall Street Journal first reported. They were then reportedly given the contact information of the appropriate Fed staff to reach out to.

The visit underscores U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's view of the case the Trump administration launched in November against Powell. In January, the Trump administration's Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas amid an investigation into the Federal Reserve's $2.5 billion headquarters renovation that began in November. The investigation centers on whether Powell lied to Congress about the renovation or failed to comply with the appropriate permitting rules.

A Fed spokesperson did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's inquiry and it declined to comment when contacted by the WSJ.

An outside attorney for the Federal Reserve, Robert Hur, reportedly objected to the visit in a letter to Pirro's office.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., head of the Senate Banking Committee, proposed that Pirro's investigation would be completed in a few weeks during an interview with Fox News. However, when pressed on whether he knew for sure the investigation would end, Scott indicated he did not have any evidence of that.

President Trump, meanwhile, thanked Pirro and others for having "courage" to persevere in the investigation.

"We have a moron at the Fed. Who wouldn't be lowering interest rates right now?" Trump said last month. "I want to thank Jeanine Pirro and Pam and her group for having the courage to bring this suit. And I believe that the contractor on that job is probably one of the richest men in the country right now. I believe that it's not possible to spend that kind of money - $3 billion, $4 billion - nobody knows, nobody has any idea what it is. But it's over $3 billion and it's probably going to be over $4 billion by the time they finish and it may never get finished, unless I take it over. I'll get it finished. But it can never be what it was."