The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation against Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
The probe comes after statements that Powell made to Congress about renovations of the Fed’s headquarters. Trump had been pressuring the head of the central bank to cut interest rates, which Powell answered by explaining that Trump’s aggressive tariff plan would likely make inflation worse.
Now, Powell is directly addressing what has the appearance of political gameplay.
“I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure,” he said in a statement.
“This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings,” he said in a video message. “It is not about Congress’s oversight role; the Fed, through testimony and other public disclosures, made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.”
Trump told NBC that he didn’t know about the DOJ investigation into the Fed chair.
“No. I wouldn’t even think of doing it that way,” he said. “What should pressure him is the fact that rates are far too high. That’s the only pressure he’s got.”
Refusing to comment on specifics of the investigation, a DOJ spokesperson would only say that U.S. Attorneys have been directed by the Attorney General to look for abuse of taxpayer dollars.
The DOJ has sent our grand jury subpoenas to the Fed in reference to statements that Powell made to Congress about renovations. He was called into a hearing last June after a journalist from a popular outlet made is sound more grandiose than Powell himself.
“There’s no VIP dining room,” Powell told senators. “There’s no new marble. There are no special elevators. There are no new water features. There’s no beehives, and there’s no roof terrace gardens.”
The Fed is slated to meet later this month and is expected to halt rate cuts.
Last year, Trump also moved to terminate Fed Gov. Lisa Cook. The SCOTUS is expected to hear arguments on the matter on Jan. 21.
