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 a major escalation in President Trump’s battle with the Fed, an independent agency he has repeatedly attacked for not cutting its key interest rate as quickly as he prefers.
The subpoena relates to Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June, he said, regarding the Fed’s $2.5-billion renovation of two office buildings, a project that Trump criticized as excessive.
Until now Powell had maintained a restrained approach to Trump’s criticisms and personal insults, which he has mostly ignored. But after Sunday’s actions, Powell issued a video statement in which he bluntly characterized the threats of criminal charges as “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 central bank had attempted to placate the administration by dialing back some policies, such as efforts to consider the effect of climate change on the banking system, that Trump and his economic advisors clearly opposed.
In his testimony in June, Powell disputed some of the criticisms that had been levied against the Fed’s renovation of two historic office buildings, which have ballooned in cost.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Sunday.
The Justice Department said in a statement Sunday that it can’t comment on any particular case, but added that Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi “has instructed her US Attorneys to prioritize investigating any abuse of tax payer dollars.”
A spokesperson for U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro’s office didn’t immediately respond Sunday to a text message and phone call seeking comment.
With the subpoenas, Powell becomes the latest perceived adversary of the president to face a criminal investigation by the Trump administration’s Justice Department. Trump has urged prosecutions of his political opponents, obliterating institutional guardrails for a Justice Department that for generations has taken care to make investigative and prosecutorial decisions independent of the White House.
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.”
“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisors within the Trump administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” said Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who sits on the Banking Committee that oversees Fed nominations. “It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.”
Rugaber writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Seung Min Kim, Eric Tucker, Michael Kunzelman and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
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