'Zero Evidence:' Judge Quashes Federal Reserve Subpoenas, DOJ Announces Appeal

Judge Quashes Federal Reserve Subpoenas, DOJ Announces Appeal

The advance of a DOJ probe on the Federal Reserve, which analysts qualified as an attack on the institution’s independence, has been blocked by a federal judge.

On Friday, Judge James Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., quashed subpoenas to ascertain the involvement of Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell in a series of renovations on the Fed building.

“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, siding with what Powell communicated on January 12, when the legal actions against the institution were first revealed.

At the time, Powell highlighted that the threat of legal actions was a consequence “of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.”

“On the other side of the scale, the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual,” Boasberg concluded.

“The process should have been allowed to run its course, and it wasn’t,” said Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. “Jerome Powell is now bathed in immunity. This is wrong, and it is without legal authority,” she stressed, vowing to appeal the ruling.

The probe against Powell and the Fed has the potential to delay the nomination of Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair, as Senator Thom Tillis has threatened to block it until the case is settled.

“We all know how this is going to end and the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office should save itself further embarrassment and move on. Appealing the ruling will only delay the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair,” he stated on social media.

FAQ

• What recent legal action was taken against the Federal Reserve?
  A DOJ probe into the Federal Reserve’s actions was blocked by a federal judge.

• Who blocked the DOJ’s subpoenas related to Jerome Powell?
  Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., quashed the subpoenas.

• What was Judge Boasberg’s assessment of the government’s evidence against Powell?
  He concluded that the government’s justifications were thin and unsubstantiated, labeling them as pretextual.

• How could this ruling affect the nomination of Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair?
  Senator Tom Tillis threatened to block Warsh’s nomination until the case against the Fed is resolved.