Judge James Boasberg Blocks DOJ Criminal Probe of Federal Reserve, Deems It Trump Pressure Campaign

A federal judge in Washington, Judge James Boasberg, quashed Justice Department subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve, finding the government had offered little to no evidence and that the subpoenas were a pretext to pressure Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

“The president has pushed for Powell's removal for months”

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Boasberg wrote that “the Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President,” and said “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.”

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Multiple outlets reported the ruling as a significant rebuke of the DOJ’s action and framed it as protecting the Fed’s independence.

Acting U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro immediately criticized Boasberg’s decision and vowed to appeal, calling the judge “an activist” and arguing the ruling improperly blocked the grand jury and investigation.

Multiple outlets recorded Pirro’s response in which she said the ruling “neutered the grand jury’s ability to investigate crime” and that her office would challenge the decision, while the judge’s opinion prevented prosecutors from obtaining the Fed records they sought.

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