The Justice Department is After the US Federal Reserve

The US Federal Reserve has received subpoenas from the Justice Department and is faced with charges.

The reason for the subpoenas is violations during the recent renovation of the Federal Reserve building, costing over $2.5 billion.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the Justice Department has issued him subpoenas for information and testimony and threatened him with criminal prosecution. The basis for the subpoenas was Powell’s testimony before Congress in the summer of 2025, when Congress was inquiring about the spending of funds for the Federal Reserve building renovation.

Powell has typically been very careful in his comments about Trump and his administration, and has commented sparingly and neutrally on all of Trump’s attacks on the Fed. But this time, he broke with that tradition. Powell recorded a video message, which was posted on the Federal Reserve’s website. In it, he stated, among other things, that the alleged irregularities during the renovation and the accompanying financial transactions were merely a pretext for attacking an independent central bank. He continued: “The threat of criminal prosecution arises from the fact that the Federal Reserve sets interest rates based on our best assessment of what serves the public interest, not on the President’s preferences. At issue is whether the Fed can continue to set interest rates based on actual data and economic conditions, or whether monetary policy will instead be driven by political pressure or intimidation.”

Of course, it’s a pretext… But it’s not just about the rate. The Trump administration cannot be satisfied with the status quo in its relations with the Fed. If Trump does attempt an economic transformation of the United States, he will need control over the activities of the source of all Western money. Specifically, the Fed should not engage in swaps with other central banks without White House approval. Which, since at least 1971, has been the “holy grail” of the global dollar system.

So the current assault on the Fed is the most serious since 2017, when Trump first entered the White House. Let’s see what Trump’s Justice Department, which has demonstrated astonishing incompetence and helplessness in the past, can deliver this time.

WESTERN BANKERS HAVE RUSHED TO THE DEFENSE OF THE US FEDERAL RESOURCE CHAIR: UPDATE

Senators have also come to Powell’s defense. And the Justice Department, it seems, has backed down. And yes, it’s about swaps, not the rate.

The heads of the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, the banks of Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Australia, South Korea, Brazil, and France, as well as senior officials of the Bank for International Settlements, issued an open letter defending US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, “central bank independence,” and opposing the proposed criminal prosecution of Powell. Experts noted that representatives of the Bank of Japan were not among the signatories.

The letter was initiated by ECB President Christine Lagarde. The letter states, in part: “Central bank independence is the cornerstone of price, financial, and economic stability in the interests of the citizens we serve.”

Senators, including Republicans, also joined the defense. The loudest voice of condemnation against the White House came from Senator Thom Tillis, the ranking member of the House Banking Committee. He accused Trump’s advisers of deliberately attempting to undermine the Fed’s independence and threatened to block the president’s nominees to the Fed until the investigation was “fully completed.”