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.
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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.
Red Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs during a hearing to “examine the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress” on Capitol Hill on June 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Getty Images 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.
