Fed chair hits back, accusing DoJ of threatening criminal charges because central bank defied Trump’s demands
The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve, a significant escalation in Donald Trump’s extraordinary attack on the US central bank.
In a blistering statement on Sunday, Powell argued he had been threatened with criminal charges because the Fed had set interest rates “based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President”.
Trump has repeatedly blasted the Powell and the Fed for declining to bow to his demand for rapid rate cuts.
The US attorney’s office in the District of Columbia has opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell over the central bank’s renovation of its Washington headquarters and whether Powell lied to Congress about the scope of the project, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
