Judge Blocks DOJ Subpoenas for Fed Chair Powell

A federal judge has blocked subpoenas issued by the Justice Department to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, delivering a sharp rebuke to prosecutors investigating the central bank’s renovation of its historic Washington headquarters. 

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that the government failed to provide credible evidence that Powell committed a crime during his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June. The testimony focused on a multi-year renovation project of the Federal Reserve’s office buildings, which Powell previously described as being used as a “pretext” for broader political pressure on the central bank. 

In his ruling, Boasberg wrote that the evidence suggested the subpoenas may have been intended to influence monetary policy decisions rather than advance a legitimate criminal inquiry. 

“A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning,” Boasberg wrote in the court filing. 

The judge added that the Justice Department produced “essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime,” calling the government’s justifications “thin and unsubstantiated.” 

The ruling quickly drew political reactions on Capitol Hill. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the decision confirms the investigation was an unwarranted attempt to undermine the Federal Reserve. 

“This ruling confirms just how weak and frivolous the criminal investigation of Chairman Powell is and it is nothing more than a failed attack on Fed independence,” Tillis wrote on social media. 

Tillis also warned that appealing the ruling could complicate the confirmation process for Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to succeed Powell as Fed chair.