Prosecutors from Pirro's office tried to access Fed headquarters, but were turned away
The renovations at the Federal Reserve are the subject of a months-long criminal investigation.
April 14, 2026 / 10:25 PM EDT / CBS News
Prosecutors from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office visited the Federal Reserve's headquarters unannounced Tuesday and attempted to gain access to the building's ongoing renovations, which are the subject of a months-long active criminal investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter and a letter reviewed by CBS News.
The two prosecutors and an investigator from Pirro's office were denied access to the site, and were given contact information for the Fed's legal team, the source said.
The decision by the federal prosecutors to visit the renovation site is highly unorthodox. A similar move by Pirro's predecessor to visit New York Attorney General Letitia James's house drew allegations from James' attorney that the office ran afoul of the rules of professional conduct for attorneys and internal Justice Department policies, which call for fair and even-handed treatment in criminal cases.
The investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell centers on a pricey years-long project to renovate the Fed's headquarters and was opened by the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. in November, according to court filings . The Fed is not funded through tax dollars.
In January, Powell revealed that the Federal Reserve had received grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department as part of a criminal investigation into him. The central bank chief said the subpoenas threatened a criminal indictment related to his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June 2025.