A federal judge on Friday said he was blocking subpoenas that the Justice Department served to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a probe purported to be about the management of the central bank’s renovation.
Powell disclosed the probe January 11, and described the move as a threat to Fed independence and part of the Trump administration’s attempts to pressure the Fed to cut rates.
The judge agreed, saying a “mountain of evidence” suggests the investigation was to pressure the Fed chair to lower rates or resign.
“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,” Chief Judge James Boasberg wrote.
