Federal prosecutors open probe into Fed chair Powell over HQ renovations – NYT

Good evening. On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June. That testimony concerned in part a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings. I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure. This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. It is not about Congress's oversight role; the Fed through testimony and other public disclosures made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates b FED'S POWELL IN STATEMENT SAYS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ON FRIDAY THREATENED CRIMINAL INDICTMENT RELATED TO HIS SENATE TESTIMONY LAST JUNE POWELL SAYS THREAT OF CRIMINAL CHARGES IS A CONSEQUENCE OF FED'S SETTING INTEREST RATES BASED ON ITS ASSESSMENT OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST RATHER THAN THE PRESIDENT'S PREFERENCES *POWELL: THIS IS ABOUT WHETHER FED CAN SET RATES INDEPENDENTLY

Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Monday condemned an investigation into her successor, Jerome Powell, saying it compromises the central bank’s independence. Yellen, who served as Treasury secretary after leaving the Fed, added that she thinks financial markets should be more concerned about a situation that she called “extremely chilling.” “I’m ...

United States President Donald Trump's administration is threatening to bring criminal charges against Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell over cost overruns at the US central bank's headquarters complex in Washington, the latest broadside by Trump ⁠against Powell and a Fed he wants to lower interest rates dramatically. The cost of the Fed's ...