DOJ to appeal judge's decision to block Fed subpoenas in Powell criminal probe

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Fri Mar 13, 2026, 05:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: CNBC

Published Fri, Mar 13 2026 2:57 PM EDT Updated 29 Min Ago


A federal judge in a scathing ruling blocked subpoenas issued by a grand jury to the Federal Reserve as part of a criminal investigation of Chair Jerome Powell. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro immediately said that the Department of Justice would appeal what she called the “outrageous” ruling, after it was unsealed Friday.

Friday’s action will likely keep Powell in the chairman’s seat longer because Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has vowed to block Kevin Warsh’s confirmation to succeed Powell until the federal investigation ends. That may mean interest rates remain higher than President Donald Trump wants for longer because Powell has refused to bend to the president’s demands to lower them further.

Boasberg, in his ruling, said evidence showed Pirro was motivated to investigate Powell because of a desire to get the Fed chief to bow to Trump and cut interest rates quickly and broadly. Pirro’s investigation purportedly is focused on the Fed’s multi-billion-dollar renovation of its headquarters in Washington and on Powell’s testimony to the Senate Banking Committee about that project.

“Did prosecutors issue those subpoenas for a proper purpose? The Court finds that they did not,” Boasberg wrote in the decision in U.S. District Court in D.C., which was dated Wednesday, but unsealed on Friday. “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,” the judge wrote.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/13/fed-jerome-powell-investigation-trump-pirro-doj.html

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Just breaking!

Link to ORDER (PDF viewer) - https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27878017-boasberg-ruling-on-grand-jury/

Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/27878017/boasberg-ruling-on-grand-jury.pdf


Article updated.

Previous articles/headline -

Published Fri, Mar 13 2026 2:57 PM EDT Updated 14 Min Ago


A federal judge in a scathing ruling blocked subpoenas issued by a grand jury to the Federal Reserve as part of a criminal investigation of Chair Jerome Powell. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro immediately said that the Department of Justice would appeal what she called the "outrageous" ruling, after it was unsealed Friday.

Friday's action will likely keep Powell in the chairman's seat longer because Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has vowed to block Kevin Warsh's confirmation to succeed Powell until the federal investigation ends. That may mean interest rates remain higher than President Donald Trump wants for longer because Powell has refused to bend to the president's demands to lower them further.

Boasberg, in his ruling, said evidence showed Pirro was motivated to investigate Powell because of a desire to get the Fed chief to bow to President Donald Trump's will and cut interest rates quickly and broadly. Pirro's investigation purportedly is focused on the Fed's multi-billion-dollar renovation of its headquarters in Washington, and on Powell's testimony to the Senate Banking Committee about that project.

"Did prosecutors issue those subpoenas for a proper purpose? The Court finds that they did not," Boasberg wrote in the decision in U.S. District Court in D.C., which was dated Wednesday, but unsealed on Friday. "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," the judge wrote.

Published Fri, Mar 13 2026 2:57 PM EDT Updated 5 Min Ago


A federal judge in a scathing ruling blocked subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve as part of a criminal investigation of its chair, Jerome Powell, by the prosecutors in the office of U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, a court filing unsealed on Friday showed.

Judge James Boasberg said evidence showed Pirro was motivated to investigate Powell because of a desire to get the Fed chief to bow to President Donald Trump's will and cut interest rates quickly and broadly. Pirro's investigation purportedly is focused on the Fed's multi-billion-dollar renovation of its headquarters in Washington, and on Powell's testimony to the Senate Banking Committee about that project.

"Did prosecutors issue those subpoenas for a proper purpose? The Court finds that they did not," Boasberg wrote in the decision in U.S. District Court in D.C., which was dated Wednesday, but unsealed on Friday.

"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," the judge wrote. "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 wrote.

Judge blocks subpoenas in criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Published Fri, Mar 13 2026 2:57 PM EDT Updated 3 Min Ago


Federal Judge James Boasberg, in a scathing ruling, blocked subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve as part of a criminal investigation of its chair, Jerome Powell, by the prosecutors in the office of U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, a court filing showed Friday.

"Did prosecutors issue those subpoenas for a proper purpose? The Court finds that they did not," Boasberg wrote. "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," the judge wrote.

"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 wrote.

Pirro, who CNBC has learned planned to appeal the ruling, is set to give an update on the probe of Powell on Friday afternoon.

Published Fri, Mar 13 2026 2:57 PM EDT Updated 2 Min Ago


A federal judge has blocked subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve as part of a criminal investigation of its chair, Jerome Powell, by the prosecutors in the office of U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, a court filing showed Friday.

Pirro is set to give an update on the probe of Jerome Powell on Friday afternoon.

Pirro's planned statement comes as Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has vowed to continue a blockage of President Donald Trump's nominee to replace Powell, Kevin Warsh, as chair. Tillis has said he will not lift that block until the investigation of Powell is resolved.

Powell has said he learned he was under investigation by Pirro's office, ostensibly in connection with pricey renovations of the Federal Reserve headquarters, and his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee about that project.

Original article -

Published Fri, Mar 13 2026 2:57 PM EDT Updated 2 Min Ago


U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro is set to give an update on the criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday.

Pirro's planned statement comes as Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has vowed to continue a blockage of President Donald Trump's nominee to replace Powell, Kevin Warsh, as chair. Tillis has said he will not lift that block until the investigation of Powell is resolved.

Powell has said he learned he was under investigation by Pirro's office, ostensibly in connection with pricey renovations of the Federal Reserve headquarters, and his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee about that project.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

[underpants]

1. Let's go to the tape! This never gets old "that was finished 5 years ago"

Link to tweet

?s=46

[LetMyPeopleVote]

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

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.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Was hoping to see you proclaim

"This will be fun to watch".

(and another "Pirro Special" goes down)

[bmichaelh]

3. Meddlesome Priest

The judge who knows English history or at least has seen the film Beckett made a reference to Henry II saying:

"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

Probably English history since he went to Oxford.

But Trump knows very little of English history or Church history.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Boasberg is the Chief Judge there

and has been trying hard, since last year, to sanction this administration, going back to the illegal flights of immigrants to CECOT against his orders. The 4th Circuit Appeals Court keeps throwing up barriers but he is still working on it.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

8. Yeah, I caught that.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. 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]

7. 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