Criminal investigation launched into Fed Chair Powell in the US
Istanbul, January 12 (Hibya) — Federal prosecutors in the United States announced that a criminal investigation has been launched into Jerome Powell, Chair of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), focusing on the $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters and his testimony to Congress regarding the matter.
In a statement, Powell said the investigation is the result of the long-standing frustration of US President Donald Trump over the Fed’s refusal to cut interest rates as quickly and as deeply as the president had demanded.
In a video statement posted on the Fed’s X account, Powell said: “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best judgment in the public interest, rather than following the president’s preferences,” adding:
“This is about whether the Fed can continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”
Following Powell’s statement, stock index futures fell.
Powell said the Department of Justice sent the Fed on Friday “a grand jury subpoena containing a threat of criminal prosecution related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June.”
“That testimony was partly related to a multi-year project to renovate historic Federal Reserve office buildings,” he said.
Powell added that the threat of charges “is not related to my testimony last June or to the renovation of Federal Reserve buildings.”
Usa News Agency
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