From Chief Judge James Boasberg's opinion Friday in In re Grand Jury Subpoenas, Bd. of Governors of the Federal Reserve System v. U.S.:
"Jerome 'Too Late' Powell has done it again!!! He is TOO LATE, and actually, TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL, to have the job of Fed Chair. He is costing our Country TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS …. Put another way, 'Too Late' is a TOTAL LOSER, and our Country is paying the price!" That [Truth Social post] is one of at least 100 statements that the President or his deputies have made attacking the Chair of the Federal Reserve and pressuring him to lower interest rates. So is this: "'Too Late' Jerome Powell is costing our Country Hundreds of Billions of Dollars. He is truly one of the dumbest, and most destructive, people in Government …. TOO LATE's an American Disgrace!"
Yet the President has been unable to push rates lower through social-media posts. He has thus hinted at other options: "I want to get him out …." Several months ago, he mused that if the Fed does not cut rates, "I may have to force something." Appointed officials and the White House Press Secretary have taken up the call. See … Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte calling on Congress to investigate Powell …; … White House Press Secretary announcing that "the administration, led by the president, is looking into" Fed's renovations ….
Perhaps it comes as no surprise, then, that the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office has recently opened a criminal investigation into Powell. It has served two subpoenas on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, seeking records about recent renovations of the Board's buildings and testimony that Powell delivered to Congress that briefly discussed those renovations. The Board has now responded with a Motion to Quash, contending that the subpoenas are merely part of the gameplan to pressure Powell to bend to the President's wishes or to get rid of him.
The case thus asks: Did prosecutors issue those subpoenas for a proper purpose? The Court finds that they did not. 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.
On the other side of the scale, the Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President. The Court must thus conclude that the asserted justifications for these subpoenas are mere pretexts. It will therefore grant the Board's Motion to Quash. It will also grant the Board's Motion to Partially Unseal the Motion to Quash, related briefing, and this Opinion….
