Hon. James Boasberg said a \u201cmountain of evidence suggests\u201d the legal summons was meant to pressure the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates<\/p>\n
A US federal judge, James Boasberg, has quashed subpoenas issued by the Justice Department against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, according to court documents unsealed on Friday.
\nThe ruling is a major blow to US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Powell for not lowering interest rates.
\nThe subpoenas issued in January relate to Powell\u2019s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in June 2025 on cost overruns tied to the Fed\u2019s building renovations. The project\u2019s latest estimate of $2.5 billion is about $600 million higher than a 2022 figure of $1.9 billion, according to the Fed.
\nThe ruling has also stalled Senate consideration of Kevin Warsh, Trump\u2019s nominee to replace Powell when his term ends on May 15.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Powell vs Trump: The Fed is trying to defend a principle already lost<\/p>\n
Judge James Boasberg said the government had \u201cproduced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime\u201d and called its justification for the subpoenas so \u201cthin and unsubstantiated\u201d that they appeared to be a pretext to force Powell to cut interest rates.
\n\u201dThere is abundant evidence that the subpoenas\u2019 dominant, if not sole, purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the president or resign and make way for a Fed chair who will,\u201d he said.
\nAfter receiving the subpoenas in January, Powell issued a video statement calling the threat of criminal charges a \u201cpretext\u201d to undermine the Fed\u2019s independence in setting interest rates.
\nBoasberg\u2019s ruling on Friday blocks US Attorney General Jeanine Pirro, who issued the subpoenas, from obtaining Fed records related to the building renovation. She has criticized the decision and said she plans to appeal.
\nPirro\u2019s plan to appeal could further delay Senate consideration of Warsh\u2019s nomination, which already faces uncertainty regarding confirmation. Powell\u2019s term as chair ends May 15, but he can remain on the Fed\u2019s Board of Governors if no successor is confirmed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hon. James Boasberg said a \u201cmountain of evidence suggests\u201d the legal summons was meant to pressure the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates A US federal judge, James Boasberg, has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t