Judge quashes Justice Dept.’s subpoenas targeting Federal Reserve chair

A federal judge in Washington threw a major roadblock into a criminal investigation of Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, quashing grand jury subpoenas issued to the central bank by federal prosecutors over renovations underway at its headquarters in Washington.

In a blistering 27-page decision unsealed Friday, the judge, James E. Boasberg, derided the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, led by Trump loyalist Jeanine Pirro, for pursuing a case against Powell when it appeared that its only reason to do so was President Donald Trump's desire to seek vengeance against him. Powell has long resisted calls from the White House to significantly lower borrowing costs, prompting a litany of attacks that has extended to the president's effort to fire another top official, Lisa D. Cook.

"There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas' dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the president or to resign and make way for a Fed chair who will," Boasberg wrote.

He continued, "On the other side of the scale, the government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the president."

Boasberg's decision did not necessarily mean the end of Pirro's inquiry, but it did deal the investigation a devastating blow. If prosecutors intend to continue pursuing it, they would have to find other ways of obtaining evidence, like persuading a judge to issue a search warrant.

A fiery Pirro, appearing at a hastily called news conference, said she planned to both appeal and file a motion requesting the judge to reconsider.

She also followed the bellicose lead of her boss, Trump, by attacking the judge, accusing him of harboring an animus toward the president and claiming that he had "neutered the grand jury's ability" to obtain information from the Federal Reserve about its expenditures.

"Jerome Powell today is now bathed in immunity, preventing my office from investigating the Federal Reserve," said Pirro, who asserted the subpoenas were issued because Powell ignored earlier requests for information. "This is wrong and it is without legal authority."

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.