• The DOJ says it will not reopen its criminal investigation into former Fed Chair Jerome Powell
• The investigation concerned the Fed’s multibillion-dollar headquarters renovation
• The Fed watchdog found mismanagement but no criminality or administrative misconduct
• Attorney General Todd Blanche says accountability questions remain despite the absence of criminal conduct
• A federal judge previously found evidence the investigation was intended to pressure Powell
• President Donald Trump has demanded Powell resign and called for potential government legal action 

The Department of Justice does not plan to reopen its criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the Federal Reserve’s costly headquarters renovation project, drawing a line under the prospect of renewed criminal proceedings.

A DOJ spokesperson confirmed Monday that the department would not revive the investigation but declined to comment further.

Attorney General Todd Blanche had indicated Friday that the criminal investigation would remain closed, although he drew a distinction between potential criminal conduct and wider questions surrounding Powell’s management of the project.

“There’s a big difference between whether he did anything wrong and whether he should be held accountable and whether there’s any criminal conduct,” Blanche told Bloomberg.

The decision follows the release of an Office of Inspector General investigation into the Fed’s over-budget renovation of the Marriner S. Eccles Building and neighboring 1951 Constitution Avenue Building.

The watchdog found evidence of mismanagement but concluded that its investigation had identified neither criminality nor administrative misconduct.

Blanche said the findings nevertheless raised questions about oversight of the multibillion-dollar project.

He said the inspector general’s report “speaks for itself about what the board did and did not do,” adding that attention should now turn toward accountability.

The DOJ originally opened its investigation into Powell in January before dropping it in April. The retreat followed a federal judge’s highly critical assessment of subpoenas issued as part of the investigation.

The judge found “abundant evidence” that their dominant, if not sole, purpose was to harass and pressure Powell into either yielding to President Donald Trump or resigning so that another Fed chair could take his place.

Despite ruling out another criminal investigation, Blanche suggested scrutiny of the renovation project may not be finished.

“There’s more work to do to understand” how its costs became so high, he said, adding that “we’ll see what happens.”

Blanche also criticized Powell’s oversight while acknowledging that poor management would not automatically constitute criminal behavior.

“It’s pretty clear he did not act appropriately as far as oversight, and that’s what the inspector general concluded,” Blanche told Bloomberg TV. However, he added that failing to exercise sufficient oversight over officials managing billion-dollar projects “isn’t necessarily a crime.”

The controversy has also continued to attract attention from the White House.

Trump said Wednesday that Blanche would study the inspector general’s findings before escalating his criticism of Powell in a Truth Social post.

The president demanded that the former Fed chair resign “IMMEDIATELY!” and argued that if Powell refused, the federal government should pursue legal action against him “for either corruption or incompetence.”

The DOJ’s decision appears to remove the immediate threat of renewed criminal proceedings, but Blanche’s comments suggest questions surrounding the management and escalating cost of the Fed renovation project could continue to generate political and administrative scrutiny