Tillis pushes DOJ to end investigation of Fed chair Powell

HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — Senator Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican, pushed the Department of Justice on Wednesday to end its investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

He told reporters that federal prosecutors, who issued subpoenas to the central bank in January, must say they made a mistake. The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington has confirmed that it’s looking into cost overruns in the Fed’s renovations of its headquarters.

“I’m not going to try and help them out of a box canyon,” Tillis said, according to Politico. “There’s one way out of a box canyon. It’s admitting you made a mistake.”

Jeanine Pirro, head of the federal prosecutor’s office, has defended the investigation. She said in a statement earlier this year that Powell refused to discuss with her the overruns and his congressional testimony on the renovations.

“None of this would have happened if they had just responded to our outreach,” Pirro wrote in a social media post.

Powell has accused the Department of Justice, which prosecuted other political opponents of President Donald Trump, of trying to intimidate the Fed into setting interest rates at levels wanted by the White House. Trump has demanded for much of his second term that the bank, a traditionally independent body, yield to him.

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president,” Powell said in a January message. “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions – or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.