One Judge Just Showed Why Jerome Powell Is Free to Stand Up To Trump's Bullying

"There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas' dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell, either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will. The judge went on to point to a mountain of evidence, citing over a year's worth of Trump's own words, from interviews to Truth Social posts, in which he complained about Powell and said he wanted lower interest rates."

"For well over a year, Donald Trump has made it very clear he has beef with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. From calling him a numbskull to a stubborn moron and threatening Powell with a major lawsuit, the president has been consistently bullying the chair to lower interest rates. Yet so far, Powell has not given in to Trump."

Donald Trump has publicly pressured Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates through months of hostile rhetoric, calling him a "numbskull" and "stubborn moron." When Powell refused to yield and the Fed maintained rates despite inflation concerns, Trump escalated by initiating a criminal investigation through the U.S. attorney's office for D.C., examining whether Powell lied to Congress about the Fed's headquarters renovation project. When prosecutors attempted to serve subpoenas to Fed board members, Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for D.C. intervened, quashing the subpoenas. The judge found abundant evidence that the subpoenas' primary purpose was harassment and pressure, citing over a year of Trump's public statements demanding rate cuts.

Read at Slate Magazine