[CNBC] Fed Chair Powell says he’s under criminal investigation, won’t bow to Trump intimidation

Fed Chair Powell says he’s under criminal investigation, won’t bow to Trump intimidation

• Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, he said.
• Powell said the probe was the result of the Fed “setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of” President Donald Trump.
• The DOJ served the Fed “with grand jury subpoenas threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June that testimony concerned in part, a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings,” Powell said.”

Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, he confirmed on Sunday evening.

Powell said the probe was the result of the Fed “setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of” President Donald Trump.

“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” he said in a video statement tweeted by the Fed’s X account.

Powell said that on Friday “the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June.”



That testimony concerned in part, a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings,” he said.

A person familiar with the investigation told CNBC that they would not dispute the idea that the probe of Powell is related to the building renovation and his testimony to Congress.

“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,” Powell said in his statement.

“No one — certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve — is above the law,” he said.

“But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure,” Powell said.

“This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. 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 New York Times first reported the probe, citing officials briefed on the matter.

The investigation is being overseen by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, according to the newspaper.

That office is led by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a former New York state prosecutor and Fox News host, who was appointed to that job by Trump.

Trump has repeatedly blasted Powell for the Fed not cutting interest rates as much and as quickly as the president has demanded since entering the White House in January 2025.

The White House referred questions about the probe to the DOJ.

(The story continues at the link.)

 

I think its equally possible that he just lies about everything. Or, at least, everything he hasn't forgotten. It's probably impossible to tell where the dementia ends and the dishonesty begins.