DOJ Opens Criminal Investigation Into Fed Chair Powell; Trump Says Iran Seeks Negotiation After Military Intervention Warning

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank was served with grand jury subpoenas by the Department of Justice on Jan. 9. Powell confirmed in a statement on Jan. 11 that officials threatened a criminal indictment over his Senate Banking Committee testimony in June 2025. Powell noted the testimony “concerned, in part, a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings.” The central bank chief dismissed the idea that this criminal probe was driven by his testimony or the renovation, saying it's connected to his position on interest rates.President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s leadership has contacted his administration to seek negotiations after he warned of possible military action in the wake of mass protests in Iran. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Iranian leaders had reached out to U.S. officials and that a meeting between the two sides was being set up.