Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the bank was served grand jury subpoenas over Fed headquarters renovations. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve was served grand jury subpoenas over Fed renovations. He said this was the latest move in the Trump administration's pressure campaign over interest rates. The White House has repeatedly criticized the $2.5 billion Fed renovations. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank was served grand jury subpoenas on Friday from the Department of Justice that threatened criminal indictment. In a statement on Sunday night, Powell said the subpoenas focused on his June testimony about renovations at historic Fed office buildings. The Fed chair said the subpoenas were the latest move in the Trump administration's pressure campaign on the central bank to lower interest rates. "No one — certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve — is above the law," Powell said. "But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure." He added: "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." Powell also suggested that this latest threat won't lead to his departure from his position, which President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for. Powell said he would continue to do his job. The dollar and US stock futures fell on concerns about the Fed's independence on Sunday. Gold, seen as a haven investment, rose as much as 2%. Following Powell's statement, Trump denied having any knowledge of the Justice Department's investigation into the central bank. "I don't know anything about it, but he's certainly not very good at the Fed, and he's not very good at building buildings," Trump said of Powell in an interview with NBC News Sunday night. HQ investigation comes amid interest rate pressure campaign The $2.5 billion planned headquarters renovations have become a major talking point for White House officials, who have accused Powell of overspending and breaking oversight laws. In July, Trump said that Powell's actions were "sort of" grounds for dismissal but later said he was "highly unlikely" to fire Powell, unless it was for "fraud." Powell has defended the renovations. Trump has urged the Federal Reserve — an independent government agency — to lower interest rates as part of his plan to spur the American economy. In its December meeting, the Fed cut rates to a range of 3.5%—3.75%, following similar reductions in September and October. After the meeting, Trump called Fed Chair Jerome Powell "a stiff" who approved a "rather small" cut and said the cut could have been "at least doubled." The president has also targeted Lisa Cook, a Fed governor. In August, he asked her to resign immediately due to allegations that Cook had committed illicit activity related to two mortgage loans. In September, a federal judge ruled that Cook can keep her job at the central bank for now. The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House referred Business Insider to the DOJ. Read the original article on Business Insider