US stocks slide, gold surges after DOJ opens criminal probe into Fed chair Jerome Powell

Wall Street was rocked early Monday after federal prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — rattling investors and igniting fears of political interference at the central bank.Dow futures tumbled more than 350 points in premarket trading, with the blue-chip contract down 357 points, or 0.72%, while S&P 500 futures slid 39.75 points, or 0.57%, and Nasdaq futures sank 201.25 points, or 0.78%, as investors reacted to the Justice Department’s move against the Fed chair.Meanwhile, gold surged to record territory as investors piled into safe havens, with spot prices jumping about 2% to around $4,595 an ounce after briefly touching $4,600, while US gold futures for February delivery climbed more than 2% to roughly $4,606.The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has opened a criminal probe into Powell over his June 2025 testimony to Congress about the scope and cost of the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion renovation of its Washington, DC headquarters, officials familiar with the matter told the New York Times.Last April, The Post was first to report that the Fed was moving forward with extensive renovations as part of a $2.5 billion overhaul of the Marriner S.Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building on the corner of 20th St.

and Constitution Ave.— despite being more than $700 million over budget.The newly announced probe was approved in November by Jeanine Pirro, the Trump ally tapped to run the US attorney’s office last year, and includes a review of Powell’s public statements and an examination of the Fed’s internal spending records, according to officials briefed on the investigation.Powell confirmed late Sunday that the Justice Department had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas and warned that prosecutors were threatening a criminal indictment tied to his testimony, calling the move an unprecedented attack on the central bank.He said the investigation was politically motivated retaliation f...