联邦储备委员会监察长办公室对该大楼翻修项目进行了长期调查，但内部监督机构认定，没有证据表明该项目触犯任何法律——这一结果与唐纳德·特朗普总统一再声称的情况完全不符。
The inspector general’s office at the Federal Reserve conducted a lengthy investigation into the building’s renovation project, but the internal watchdog concluded that there was no evidence the project crossed any legal lines — an outcome in direct odds with President Donald Trump’s repeated claims.
周三向公众发布的一份长达121页的报告显示，美联储监察长承认，美联储董事会未能“有效管理和执行其‘风险型施工经理’合同，并多次偏离其成本管理规定”，监察长办公室因此提出七项建议，以解决相关深层问题。
a 121-page report released to the public on Wednesday, the Fed’s inspector general conceded that the Fed board had not “effectively managed and executed its ‘construction manager at risk’ contract and repeatedly deviated from its cost-management provisions,” which led the watchdog office to present seven recommendations to address underlying concerns.
不过，调查结论显示，调查人员“未发现行政不当行为”，也没有“合理理由相信发生了违反联邦刑法的行为”。
The findings nevertheless concluded that investigators “did not identify administrative misconduct” or any “reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of federal criminal law had occurred,” according to the report.
这并非白宫希望看到的结果。事实上，今年1月，美国司法部对时任美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔发起了一项备受争议的刑事调查，重点针对该央行大楼的翻修项目。
This is not the outcome the White House was hoping to see. Indeed, in January, the Justice Department launched a highly controversial criminal investigation into then-Fed Chair Jerome Powell, specifically focused on the central bank’s renovation project.
在相关消息开始对外披露之际，鲍威尔发布了一段约2分钟、直接面对镜头的视频声明，确认特朗普政府司法部已向美联储送达大陪审团传票，并扬言提出刑事起诉。
Around the time the news began to reach the public, Powell issued a roughly 2-minute video statement speaking directly to the camera, confirming that Trump’s DOJ had served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment.
鲍威尔还解释了这些事态发展背后看似显而易见的动机：“刑事指控的威胁，是美联储根据我们对什么最符合公众利益的最佳判断来设定利率的结果，而不是遵从总统的偏好。这关乎美联储能否继续根据证据和经济状况来设定利率，还是货币政策将转而受政治压力或恐吓的支配。”这一挑衅性的举动——此前从未有总统试图用可疑的刑事调查来恐吓在任美联储主席——引发了迅速、广泛且跨党派的政治反弹，几位国会共和党人也认同，用捏造的指控追究美联储主席是个错误。
Powell also explained what appeared to be the obvious motivation behind the developments: “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president. This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”The provocative gambit — no president had ever before tried to intimidate a sitting Fed chair with a dubious criminal probe — led to a political backlash that proved swift, broad and bipartisan, with several congressional Republicans agreeing that it was a mistake to pursue the Fed chair with trumped-up charges.
这也是一场法律上的惨败。3月，一名联邦法官撤销了司法部针对鲍威尔的传票，并强调检方“基本上没有拿出任何证据”。司法部随后不久便结束了调查，此时距总统亲自现身该建筑工地大约已过去一年——当时他站在鲍威尔身旁，所提出的说法也被证明不实。至于后续进程，现任美联储主席凯文·沃什致信监察长迈克尔·霍罗威茨，认同有必要“以尽可能高效和透明的方式”完成这一在建项目，并补充说美国总务管理局将立即起担任项目执行方。
It was also a legal fiasco. In March a federal judge quashed the DOJ’s subpoenas targeting Powell, emphasizing the fact that prosecutors “produced essentially zero evidence.”The Justice Department closed its investigation soon after roughly a year after the president made an in-person appearance at the construction site, where he stood alongside Powell and made claims that were also proved untrue As for the process moving forward, incumbent Fed Chair Kevin Warsh wrote a letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz, agreeing about the need to complete the ongoing project “in the most efficient and transparent way possible,” and adding that the General Services Administration would be the project executive, effective immediately.
监察长调查使特朗普关于美联储翻修的说法站不住脚 MS NOW
The post Inspector general investigation discredits Trump’s claims about Federal Reserve renovations MS NOW