US Judge Blocks Subpoenas Targeting Federal Reserve Chair
"A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning," stated Judge James Boasberg, chief judge of the US District Court for Washington, DC, in a court filing.
He added, "The Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime. Indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual."
Boasberg concluded, "The Court therefore finds that the subpoenas were issued for an improper purpose and will quash them."
Powell had previously indicated that the potential indictment was connected to his Senate testimony last June regarding renovations at Federal Reserve office buildings.
"No one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve, is above the law," Powell said in a Jan. 11 video statement. "But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure."
Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia under Trump, criticized the judge’s decision, saying it wrongly cleared Powell.
"No one is above the law, but for the first time, a judge’s ruling that a grand jury subpoena, on its face legal in all regards, can be ignored, because the judge thinks the subject is beyond reproach," Pirro said at a news conference. "This is a decision that is untethered to the law."
The dispute comes amid ongoing pressure from President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called for lower interest rates and criticized Powell and other central bank officials, claiming their reluctance to cut rates contributes to an affordability crisis for consumers.
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