A federal judge has quashed a pair of grand jury subpoenas sent to the Federal Reserve Board as part of a criminal probe by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office.
Washington — A federal judge has quashed a pair of grand jury subpoenas sent to the Federal Reserve Board as part of a criminal probe by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office, saying they were merely a pretext to pressure Chairman Jerome Powell into voting for lower interest rates or resigning.
'There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas' dominant purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will. On the other side of the scale, the Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President,' Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in his ruling, which was dated March 11 and unsealed on Friday.'The Court must thus conclude that the asserted justifications for these subpoenas are mere pretexts,' he added.In January, Powell revealed that the Federal Reserve had received grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into him. The subpoenas threatened a criminal indictment related to Powell's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June 2025, according to Powell. The chairman — who has drawn President Trump's ire for declining to rapidly slash interest rates — said the probe centered on his comments about a years-long renovation project at the Federal Reserve's office buildings.The probe has not resulted in any criminal charges.In his ruling, Boasberg heavily quoted Mr. Trump, and said the motivation behind the criminal probe appeared to be driven by his desire to pressure the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.'Jerome 'Too Late' Powell has done it again!!! He is TOO LATE, and actually, TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL, to have the job of Fed Chair,' Boasberg cited the president as saying in a post on social media.'That is one of at least 100 statements that the President or his deputies have made attacking the Chair of the Federal Reserve and pressuring him to lower interest rates,' Boasberg wrote, noting that when the pressure failed, he resorted to calling for Powell's ouster instead.'Perhaps it comes as no surprise, then, that the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office has recently opened a criminal investigation into Powell,' Boasberg wrote.
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