Federal judge quashes Justice Department subpoenas of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, says probe was politically motivated

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Pirro is a hack. trump loses yet again

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/13/politics/fed-chair-jerome-powell-subpoena

A federal judge has quashed subpoenas the Justice Department had issued against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, according to court documents unsealed Friday.

The ruling is a major blow to President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticized Powell for not lowering interest rates and urged the Justice Department to investigate the outgoing chair.

US District Judge James “Jeb” Boasberg wrote in the new opinion that a “mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning.”

“On the other side of the scale, the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual,” Boasberg said.

[Midnight Writer]

1. Can Powell sue for this legal harassment? Sounds like the judge is giving him an opening.

Until members of this Administration start feeling personal repercussions for their actions, noting will improve.

[Ocelot II]

2. Link to the opinion:

...in other recent cases in which subpoena targets have moved to quash, the Government has submitted ex parte the evidence that led it to suspect wrongdoing. In re Grand Jury Subpoena , No. 26-mc-2,ECF No. 14 (Gov. ex parte Suppl.) (D.D.C. Feb. 11, 2026); In re Grand Jury Subpoena, No. 26-mc-7, ECF No. 13 (Gov. ex parte Suppl.) (D.D.C. Feb. 12, 2026).In our case, however, the Government at the hearing declined to offer any other evidence. SeeMar. Hearing Tr. at 19:6–14. Nor has it supplied any written ex parte submission. The Court is thus left with no credible reason to think that the Government is investigating suspicious facts as opposed to targeting a disfavored official.When the evidence of improper motive is so strong and the justifications for these subpoenas are so tenuous, it is hard to see the renovations and testimony as anything other than a convenient pretext for launching a criminal investigation that the Government launched for another, unstated purpose: pressuring Powell to knuckle under. In light of all the evidence, the only reasonable inference is that the Government targeted Powell “out of malice or an intent toharass” and has launched a “fishing expedition” to either find something to pin on him or to pressure him to fold. R. Enters., 498 U.S. at 299. That harassment seems aimed at bulldozing the Fed’s statutory independence. Cf. Vance, 591 U.S. at 806, 809 (prosecutors cannot use subpoenas in “attempt to influence the performance of . . . official duties” that law bars them from controlling). The Court will therefore grant the Motion to Quash. . . .

A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on theBoard to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning. On the other side of the scale, the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual. The Court therefore finds that the subpoenas were issued for an improper purpose and will quash them. It will also unseal redacted versions of the Motion toQuash, related briefing, and this Opinion.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27878017-boasberg-ruling-on-grand-jury/

[Jim__]

3. "There's gambling going on in here!" - Humphrey Bogart

[UTUSN]

4. K&R!!!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. Court blocks Justice Department subpoenas of Federal Reserve

The decision is a significant victory for the Fed. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said she would appeal the ruling.

Court blocks Justice Department subpoenas of Federal Reserve -- U.S. District Judge James Boasberg cited lack of evidence against central bank chief Jerome H. Powell and suggested the subpoenas aimed to pressure him www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

— (@therreport.bsky.social) 2026-03-13T19:33:01.199Z

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/03/13/fed-reserve-powell-subpoenas-boasberg/

A federal judge blocked the Justice Department’s move to subpoena Federal Reserve records, a significant setback in its inquiry into central bank chief Jerome H. Powell and his testimony about the Fed’s renovations of its headquarters.

Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in D.C. quashed a pair of subpoenas tied to the investigation and ordered the docket in the case unsealed after attorneys for the Fed and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office battled over the legality of the probe in a closed-door hearing this month.

The judge’s ruling, dated Wednesday and unsealed Friday, criticized the Justice Department’s efforts to investigate several of President Donald Trump’s perceived political foes since last year and said the Powell inquiry was the latest instance of weaponizing law enforcement for political ends.

“A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning,” Boasberg wrote in the opinion. “On the other side of the scale, the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual.”.....

Tillis and several other Republicans on the Banking Committee — including the panel’s Republican chairman — have said they don’t believe Powell committed a crime in his June testimony, which briefly touched on the office renovations.

Link to tweet

.....In a readout of a previously unreported Jan. 29 meeting with Pirro, Powell’s personal attorney said the chair “would not leave the board when his term as chair expires if he was still under investigation.”

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Andrew Weissmann: It is a very, very low standard to get a grand jury subpoena

Andrew Weismann was on Deadline White House this afternoon

Link to tweet