Federal Reserve Chair Powell says DOJ has subpoenaed central bank, threatens criminal indictment

"WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Sunday the Department of Justice has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony about the Fed's building renovations. The move represents an unprecedented escalation in President Donald Trump's battle with the Fed, an independent agency he has repeatedly attacked for not cutting its key interest rate as quickly as Trump prefers. The subpoena relates to his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June, Powell said, regarding the Fed's $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings, a project that Trump criticized as excessive this summer."

"In a video statement, Powell said the threat of criminal charges are "pretexts" to undermine the Fed's independence when it comes to setting interest rates. "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," Powell said."

"The Justice Department in a statement Sunday said it can't comment on any particular case, but added that Attorney General Pam Bondi "has instructed her US Attorneys to prioritize investigating any abuse of tax payer dollars." A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office didn't immediately respond Sunday to a text message and phone call seeking comment. The potential indictment has already drawn concern from one Republican senator, who said he'll oppose any future nominee to the central bank, including any replacement for Powell, until "this legal matter is fully resolved.""

The Department of Justice served subpoenas to the Federal Reserve and threatened criminal indictment over Chair Jerome Powell's testimony about a $2.5 billion renovation of two Fed office buildings. The subpoenas relate to Powell's June Senate Banking Committee testimony about the renovations, a project criticized as excessive by President Trump. Powell called the threat of criminal charges "pretexts" intended to undermine the Fed's independence and warned that monetary policy could be driven by political pressure rather than evidence and economic conditions. The Justice Department declined specific comment while noting Attorney General Pam Bondi prioritized investigations of taxpayer dollar abuse. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis expressed concern and said he would oppose future Fed nominees until the legal matter is resolved.

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