Federal Judge Upholds Decision to Void Subpoenas for Jerome Powell

US Federal Judge Rejects Trump Administration’s Subpoena Requests for Jerome Powell

A US federal judge, James Boasberg, has rejected a pair of subpoenas from the Trump administration seeking information about Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve. The Department of Justice had sought to obtain documents and testimony from Powell in connection with an investigation into the renovation project at the Federal Reserve’s historic buildings in Washington, DC.

In a six-page opinion published on Friday, Judge Boasberg ruled that the Trump administration’s arguments did not convince him that the subpoenas were legitimate. The judge had previously rejected the subpoenas on March 13, citing an “improper purpose” - to pressure Powell into compliance with the president’s demands.

The Federal Reserve is an independent government agency, and its chairman is not subject to political demands. However, President Trump has repeatedly called on the bank to slash interest rates and has denounced Powell as “incompetent”, “crooked”, and a “fool” for not following suit.

Powell’s term as Federal Reserve chair is set to expire in May. The Trump administration had pointed to cost overruns on the renovation project as evidence of malfeasance, with some officials calling for an investigation into Powell’s behavior.

The Justice Department had argued that it did not need to produce evidence of a crime to seek a grand jury subpoena. However, Judge Boasberg agreed with this point but also ruled that subpoenas are subject to a legal standard that bars them from being issued for “improper” purposes.

In his ruling, the judge stated that he has seen no suggestion that Powell committed criminal wrongdoing and pointed out that the Government’s assertions of wrongdoing were “colorable or tenuous”. The court will now have to consider how much evidence there is to back up these assertions.

Source: Al Jazeera