- Trump wants to pursue the probe into Jerome Powell “to the end.”
- Earlier in January, the DOJ served the Federal Reserve subpoenas threatening criminal indictment.
- Trump has already picked Powell’s successor, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh.
President Donald Trump wants the probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to continue.
In the Oval Office on Monday, a reporter asked Trump whether he would like the US Attorney for the District of Washington, Jeanine Pirro, to drop the investigation into Powell.
He replied that he wanted Pirro to “take it to the end and see.”
Trump then repeated some of his criticisms of Powell, accusing him of spending excessive funds on the Federal Reserve building’s renovation.
Powell said on January 11 that the Fed had been served with grand jury subpoenas that threatened criminal indictment over the Fed’s renovations. Powell said the probe was intended to force him to lower interest rates.
“The threat of criminal charges is 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,” he said in a video statement on January 11. Powell’s term ends in May.
The investigation was the latest and most serious attack that Trump has launched against Powell. He has criticized the central banker on numerous occasions since he launched his presidential campaign.
After Powell was hit by the probe, the world’s central bankers rallied around him in support. The heads of central banks from Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada, among others, said in an open letter that Powell is a “respected colleague held in the highest regard by all who have worked with him.”
Meanwhile, Trump announced his pick for Powell’s successor as Fed chair on Friday. He picked Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and banker, to step into the role in May.
Representatives for the Fed and the White House did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
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