Most people will not read the Inspector General Report in full [SEE PDF HERE]. But if you did, you might come to the same conclusion as myself. The entire FED and IG Michael Horowitz should be fired, arrested and prosecuted for corruption at a level that is simply jaw dropping.
The issue is really simple if you cut through the fog of the report. The FED Board awarded a no-bid contract to the contractor, without an agreement on the building renovation project and the construction costs associated with it until President Donald Trump began drawing attention to it. This is gross corruption at a massive scale.
To use the terminology of the report, start with this aspect:
…”the Board selected a different project delivery method, construction manager at risk (CMAR), for the Eccles-1951 renovation project. A well-managed CMAR contract allows a building owner—in this case, the Board—to transfer certain construction risks, including those related to cost and schedule performance, to its construction manager (also known as a construction manager as constructor, or CMc). To effect this risk transfer, a CMAR contract provides for the owner and CMc to agree on a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the project, usually around the time construction begins or building design is substantially complete. Once the GMP is set, the owner has greater cost certainty and the CMc is incentivized to carefully manage costs. If costs exceed the GMP, the CMc absorbs them with limited exceptions, such as when the GMP may be increased to account for change events like owner directed changes or other adjustments like unforeseen site conditions“… {Source pg, 5}
So, the FED board established, at least with themselves, that they would have an agreement on cost for the project. However, if you go to page 60 of the report you find this:
…” in connection with a multibillion-dollar contract, the Board did not ask its CMc for a construction cost estimate or a GMP until December 2025—about 3.5 years after construction began and after the Board had already awarded more than $2 billion. Specifically, the Board did not take advantage of several key opportunities to request a cost estimate from the CMc”…. (Source pg, 60}
It wasn’t until President Trump drew attention to the FED having spent over $2 billion, that FED Chair Jerome Powell, and the FED board requested the construction manager and construction company to provide a cost estimate. This is unreal, especially considering that IG Michael Horowitz finds no unlawful decision-making in the overall fiasco.
President Trump went to visit the construction site at the central bank in July 2025, when both Trump and Powell donned hardhats to inspect the work. FIVE MONTHS LATER, the FED Board finally asked for a construction cost estimate!
The FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD just gave the construction company an open-ended blank check to spend as much as they wanted of TAXPAYER MONEY, with no limits and no expectations of cost. This, according to IG Horowitz is a little concerning, but entirely not a legal problem.
These are the people supposedly in charge of running monetary policy for The United States of America!
Now, we can understand exactly why IG Michael Horowitz was moved from protecting Washington DC corruption within the Dept of Justice, to protecting Washington DC corruption at the Federal Reserve.
Michael Horowitz is not an Inspector General. He is the corruption manager for the U.S. government!
“The Inspector General’s Report just came out on Jerome “Too Late” Powell’s “renovation” of the Federal Reserve Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The IG’s Report states that there were “deficiencies in the management of the renovation project.” The Building is over budget, at a Record Setting rate and, at a minimum, “Too Late” Powell should be forced to resign from the Board. He can’t manage a Building, and he certainly shouldn’t be allowed to manage his High Interest Rate Policy (only on “TRUMP!”).
I have asked Attorney General Todd Blanche to study the report, and make a determination as to what to do about a relatively small Building Complex that is Hundreds of Millions of Dollars over budget, and is now going to cost, according to the Report, at least 2.5 Billion Dollars, with no end in sight.
The Report states, “We were concerned to find that the Board did not obtain a project cost estimate from the [construction manager] until January 2026, which was 3.5 years after construction began and after the Board had awarded more than $2 billion in construction costs. As of July 2026, more than 4 years after construction began and $2 billion has been awarded for construction, the Board had yet to set a [guaranteed maximum price]” — An absolutely unheard of situation! — “The Board therefore still does not have cost certainty and has not transferred material risk to the [construction manager].”
In actuality, I think that the 2.5 Billion Dollars will be 3.5 Billion Dollars, and maybe 4 Billion Dollars by the time they’re finished, and may never get properly built. Soundproofing, and all other elements of the Building, will be inferior to what was previously there. In particular, the magnificent beauty, sculptured ceilings and walls, and so many other things which made the Federal Reserve Building stand apart, will never be captured again, and are only being replaced by flat, boring, less than midlevel finishes.
I could have done a far better Renovation for 25 Million Dollars, completely maintaining the MAGNIFICENCE of the structure, and had money left over. They completely destroyed the Beauty and Glorious History of the Building.
This is Jerome Powell’s fault, and he should be forced to resign, IMMEDIATELY! If he doesn’t resign, he should be sued, at the highest level, by the United States Government, for either corruption or incompetence, both of which are completely unacceptable…And no, I do not want this Building named after President Donald J. Trump, ME! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Be sure to use chicken feathers!
You beat me to it! I think we can scare some up for ya. Might need extra chicken feather suppliers if we are doing the whole board.
Can we do Anthony Fausi + Jack Smith et and get 3 birds with one go?
Why worry about the cost when they just pull the money from thin air.
I thought they pulled the money out of another 3 letter word starting with an A.
“Why worry about the cost when they just pull the money from thin air.”
It’s almost as if these clowns WANT the dollar to collapse and have China’s Yuan become the dominant world currency.
They’re using OUR air! : )
And with all the money they’ve pulled from it it’s no wonder the air is so thin!
I worked a few construction projects in the military. It was an eye opening and depressing experience. At the same time the government purchase card holder in my unit was getting raked over the coals for buying the wrong $700 fridge, the military civil engineer on our contract was coaching the GC on how to best fleece the system and extract the maximum amount of $$$ from the DOD as possible. And we had actual oversight
I am sure it’s much worse in the civilian agencies.
You don’t spend $6,810,000,000,000 PER YEAR by spending responsibly. The federal government is on autopilot spending, and Congress is at best asleep at the wheel, if not already dead and photoshopped. It is beyond out of control. We are at lawless.
Con-gress is the worst! They are the ones spending like drunken sailors.
Congress gives drunken sailors a bad rep.
At least drunken sailors are not spending everyone else’s money.
At least the drunken sailor might be sober come the next morning…….or afternoon…..
As a drunken sailor, I am insulted by this comment. We were already drinking again by the next morning.
<chuckles>
“The federal government is on autopilot spending, and Congress is at best asleep at the wheel,”
Congress is far from being asleep at the wheel. They are very much wide awake and actively participating, and profiting from, the spending spree.
Time to defund Congress and do a reset.
Oh, it is. Building contractors have been ripping people off for a very long time! Trust me, I know! It’s amazing some of the tricks these people have up their sleeve. And it’s downright ridiculous some of the change orders they will pull out of their arses!
I nominate Ron Paul for Special Prosecutor, The Nobel Peace prize and Man of the Year.
Way better than Carney!
The government is run like nobody’s business.
Waste fraud corruption incompetence zero oversight and accountability. Definition of our government.
Your tax dollars FLUSHED!
I guess Jerome apprenticed under Ben!
… ease it on in….
Actually…not 😎
FED probably used printed money that they create.
“FED probably used printed money that they create.”
I keep several rolls of that “money” in the commode…….
Be at ease
As you sit
The paper’s strong
And will not split.
Use Burma Shave
The fastest way to get in touch with yourself is to buy cheap toilet paper.
Apprenticed under Ben Dover..
Walls still closing in or something?
Still no accountability even with Trump in the WH. Imagine how bad it would be if he wasnt? I imagine even worse then the 4 years of Obamas third term installment in the WH.
Nothing ever happens, ever.
Clearly as is usually the case and benefit of the doubt, lukewarm defenders more concerned with their quality of life after Trump are to blame.
LukeWarm Defenders at best….Another Case in Point:
AAG Harmeet Dhillon says 300 attorneys within her division QUIT the DOJ because she’s trying to purge voter rolls of ineligible voters, and end DEI
It’s a good start and shows the level that the leftists controlled and weaponized the institution.
They fear retribution from a future DemonRat administration. Good riddance! They were probably all useless DEI hires ant ways.
We need to ensure the DemonRat Party is crushed forever.
Gosh! I did not see that in the Boston Globe.
re: “Nothing ever happens, ever.”
Here’s an example of a ‘doomer’ Bongino warns us about ….
No one would have ever heard about this if Trump wasn’t in the WH.
Waste, fraud, and abuse occurring in federal agencies is much more the rule than the exception.
Cue The Lukewarm Defenders…
“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones.” ~ Niccolò Machiavelli
But sure do like us paying higher interest rates. Assholes.
One can pray for prosecution. God if it is in your will. 🙏🏽
Eliminate the fraud and we can eliminate the deficit, and run a 600 Billion dollar surplus.
Probably way, way more than that when accounting for all the graft and corruption feeding into the international parasite class.
That’s an insult to real, animal parasites!
Democrat Slush Fund.
Republican too!
What did you expect from this report besides whitewashing?
Reminder:
On 4/3/26, ‘Judge’ Boasberg confirmed his previous ruling (3/13/26). He maintained that the government lacked a good-faith basis to suspect a crime, and he concluded that the obligation for reconsideration of his prior ruling that the Powell probe had not been met.
“The Government’s arguments do not come close to convincing the Court that a different outcome is warranted,” the judge wrote in the opinion. He re-affirmed his position that the “dominant purpose” of the subpoenas was not a legitimate investigation, but rather an effort to pressure Powell to lower interest rates or resign.
gov.uscourts.dcd.288962.33.0.pdf
“Political corruption works by having an equally corrupt legal system to protect it”
~Steven Magee
Amen, Betsy!
SPIT!!!
Donald Trump literally wrote the book on change-order construction. These people really thought they were going to get away with this profoundly stupid program. Sheesh.
We’ll see, but almost certain they will slip away with money falling out of their pockets!
That’s the biggest problem in this country.
No matter how many criminals in government commit major crimes they always walk away.
Administration after Administration they come and pillage and plunder and break federal laws left and right and the system of “Justice” protects them unless it’s someone like PDJT and it’s proof of the complete degradation of the judicial system and Department of Injustice and ALL law enforcement
Another major problem is the DC Article III courts. They are there to protect the government corruption. The district needs to be abolished, and federal cases arising in DC need to be moved by lottery to any of the district courts, and their respective appellant court, within 100-150 miles of DC. The lottery should be done with witnesses and broadcast on CSPAN.
That being said, Congress needs to restrict the powers of the Article III courts. Only the SCOTUS should rule on the constitutionally of acts passed by Congress, or Executives actions enforcing the law. The days of some commie-judge playing lawfare needs to end.
How would you insure or bond a project without a contract? How would the CM hire the GC without a contract? How would the CM approve the GC’s invoices? How would the GC get paid? How would the GC obtain insurance or bonding? How would the GC bill without a contract to reference? How would Subs bill the GC? How would Subs insure? How would any of the paper flow?
I guess it’s a non-AIA contract … jus’ sayin’. Curious to know if they had to follow prevailing wage rules. Big trouble ahead I hope.
So the IG was to assess costs but not look at actual line-item expenditures and verifiable receipts? Maybe the Fed could use an annual subscription of Quicken to keep track of moderately important details. They evidently went to the Learing Center for accounting lessons.
Wish my taxes could be audited with the same nonchalance as the Fed’s expenses.
All very good questions!
All absolutely correct points Johansson
@Sundance There is much more to this one and it’s been right under the Admin’s nose.
I came from the supply side of construction and this one does NOT pass the smell test.
No contract expenses had to pass straight through to the Secretary of the Treasury.
Who was that in the Biden Admin?
None other than Janet Yellen for the whole
4-years.
The same Janet Yellen that covered three failed banks in 2023.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_United_States_banking_crisis
Follow this $$$–pls!
Should say
“No-Contract”
The whole thing smells of RICO if you ask me. RICO with a dash of mendacity.
$5 says no one even gets a slap
Horowitz….another dual citizenship American.
I wonder how much of that money goes to his offshore retirement account.
Probably about the same amount that went into Boasberg’s!
Praise GOD!!! Fight! Fight! Fight!
Are you sure? I’m not finding any information about him having dual citizenship. I did see this: Personal life
In 2000, he married Alexandra Leigh Kauffman in Leesburg, Virginia.[3] Kauffman is a former field producer for CNN covering economics and personal finance.[3]
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Michael_E._Horowitz (Look at her job at Barnard College in NYC for about 22 yrs)
Sundance, why is my post here showing as waiting for approval??? I’m not a newbie, as you are aware.
Because you have 4 links – our spam filter flags anything with more than 3 links. 😉
I only see 1 link. The wikiwand one. My history page only shows that site’s link also.
Count ’em for yourself…..
1. Leesburg,Virginia (3)
2. CNN
3. (3)
4. wwww.wikiwand
They were embedded in the ONE link, I posted. I did not post 3 separate links.
I posted you an answer as a courtesy. I can’t make you understand…
This is why We The Taxpayers should demand to defund the fraud! We should demand repeal of the Federal Income tax, and the dismantle the system that redistributes our coerced tax payments as the Federal government and Congress please.
I love the little trolling in the second to last sentence of the President’s statement! 😎
Definitely noticed that!
FWIW: The Federal Reserve HQ project is led by a joint venture formed by Balfour Beatty and Gilbane Building Co. A key word search of the IG report indicates that neither company was mentioned by name.
IMHO, it’s full-blown corruption, Powell included.
As a translator, I’ve worked on many Requests for Proposals. Trust me, if I know about RfPs, Powell knows. He chose to bypass the process for a reason.
https://www.tendersinfo.com/request-for-proposal-rfp
Boy Sundance I love your writing but it took me a bit to figure out you were referring to the Fed’s new palace.
The #1 reason why they’ve tried and are very likely still trying to kill Trump. Money.
40 trillion in debt and interest rates rising. How did we get here /sarc.
This was just another DC-on-the-Potomac Slush Fund.
One would think that they had a fiduciary duty to try harder than they did to, I don’t know, have a signed, detailed contract that included a mechanism for changes and overages that must be approved in advance.
WTF. Our national debt is all fraud and theft.
No wonder they don’t want to lower interest rates. They need those larger payments from the Federal Government. Fleecing the taxpayer is all Government knows what to do.
No wonder DOGE scared the crap out of them.
and WHAT IS ” IG ” Michael Horowitz’s FAVORITE DRINK in the D.C. Dinner Party Circuit ?
SCOTUS CHIEF JUSTICE Probably KNOWS…
IF NOT ask the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia BOASBERG
” IT’s A BIG CLUB and YOU ( WE ) Are NOT IN IT “
It is called the Russian Collusion. It takes a long time to make, is really expensive and when it arrives it has evaporated and the glass is empty.
Who is the contractor?
We need the straw donors named.
Popcorn for this one.
40 acres of it, and a herd of cattle for the butter.
Yes, PSALM!! If we think about this through the lens of Promethean Action, it is not surprising to find Balfour Beatty listed on
the London Stock Exchange. Who is trying to drag us down?
Praise GOD!!! Fight! Fight! Fight!
Re: Balfour Beatty (UK)
Military housing fraud
In December 2021, Balfour Beatty Communities LLC, one of the largest providers of privatized military housing to the U.S. Armed Forces, pleaded guilty to one count of major fraud against the United States. The company was sentenced to pay over $33.6 million in criminal fines and over $31.8 million in restitution to the U.S. military, serve three years probation, and engage an independent compliance monitor for three years.[72] The company lied about repairs made to housing for U.S. servicemembers and collected performance bonuses to which it was not entitled.[73]
The Federal Reserve Building job that has no official contract with Balfour Beatty came after the above.
$33.6-million in fines.
$31.8-million in restitution.
And USG has paid out over $2-billion on a Federal Reserve building remodel that looks to basically show drywall dust.
This is a HUGE CORRUPTION story.
We can only hope restitution is made back to USG for the Fed bldg and the culprits serve some time.
AND the American public knows all of it.
Thank you, Psalm!! I only scratched the surface.
Praise GOD!!! Fight! Fight! Fight!
This is why so many fight, scratch, kick and claw to become employed by the federal gummint. Just get your foot in the door and soon you will get your turn at the trough if you vote right.
I met the NY Fed Governor. Very, very glib. Extremely shallow knowledge base and came across as someone who simply read scripts prepared by others. That is, a pure political hack!!
I will happily provide the feathers. Tar and feather him, then run him out of town on a rail – anyone willing to donate the rail?
These criminals that have a label of “Inspector General” are actually Internal Guardians.
A blank check book and no oversight and spending like they have deserves an Audit and into those construction companies and their leaders.
The Fed holds more American Home mortgages than all banks combined…….why don’t they use all the interest stolen from Americans to revamp and destroy a once great building?
Misfeasance in office. Let us away, Comrades, to the Wall of Ceausescu™.
They used the same math Gavin Newscum used for his rail.
OOP
Other peoples money.
I mean, wasting tax payer money, that’s governments shtick.
Hmm but the FED, despite the name, is a private institution. To maintain its independence from political influence,….
Things that make you go hmmmm.
Ben “well we don’t actually print it” Bernanke looks like a saint compared to the stooges that followed him.
Yellen obviously the worst, but Jesus.
Let me make a SWAG at a conspiracy theory. . .
Powell and others partaking in this thievery and fraud, have all had 2K s.f. or more luxury additions and swimming pools, etc., built on their homes.
During my career (now retired) I worked for a large hospital system as a construction project manager. We used the CM at risk contract model. I managed most of the larger projects. One of the things I was tasked with was working with internal auditors as they reviewed contract and procurement compliance.
I would be interested to see if the IG looked at the full CM contract to see if the CM is in compliance with his cost control obligations, and if the IG looked at the Fed’s procurement policies to see if the Fed’s managers were in compliance when they authorized construction start. If not, the IG report is window dressing.
That being said, you would be hard pressed to prove criminal intent unless you can trace payoffs. Incompetence is so common, it could easily explain this situation.
Bottom line, the fed is unconstitutional, it was never legitimate. It should be immediately done away with.
Not one thing will happen. No charges… no one held accountable… nothing
The Leash is only so long for President Trump.
WOW!!!!
I have to say. As a GC myself, IF I ever did something like this with a client, without proper documentation in full agreement, I would be in jail. My assets seized. Reputation ruined. License revoked. And most likely, made an example of what not to ever do so as to dissuade anyone frome doing so again.
Tar and Feathers are not enough for this group of thieves!!!!
Tar and feathers is not enough for this lot of thieves.
A long drop from a short rope is.
Laundering?
Embezzlement?
How many NGO’s will, by some contortionist moves, receive some of his money?
Jimmy Hoffa moved under this concrete for safekeeping from President Trump’s look-see?
It’s nice work if you can get it.
Pretty mind boggling, $2 B award and no contract? Who is the contractor and who are they sleeping with?
How about the new Fed Chairman, Kevin Warsh?
What does he have to say about this?
Warsh did what Jerome Powell did: raise interest rates.
Don’t try to scam an executive officer (President) on building costs when he was a builder all his life and knows his stuff.
Andrew Jackson was clearly prescient.
The best and brightest.
How many D Rat politician pockets were lined with Taxpayer GREENBACKS?
I’m sure R snouts are also in the trough.
There seems to be no end to the grift in our govt. And no end to it. our 40 trillion deficit seems to be all grift. So sad, every blue state seems to be corrupt, and probably a few red as well. So sad.
RINO Tillis held up Blanche confirmation unless they shut down investigations. What was his take?