Former Fed chairs and Treasury secretaries just spoke up to defend Powell from Trump
Reuters and Getty Images
- All three living former Fed chairs condemned the reported criminal probe into Chair Jerome Powell.
- On Sunday, Powell said that the Fed had received grand jury subpoenas related to his Senate testimony.
- The Fed chairs called the probe "an unprecedented attempt" to undermine the Fed's independence.
All three living former chairs of the Federal Reserve rushed to Jerome Powell's defense after the current Fed chair said he is under criminal investigation.
The former chairs, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and Janet Yellen, led the central bank under presidents of both major political parties, dating back to Greenspan's first appointment by President Reagan in 1987.
The statement is also signed by five former Treasury secretaries, including former Secretary Hank Paulson, who was President George W. Bush's final full-time leader of the department. Three other Treasury secretaries, Yellen, Jack Lew, and Timothy F. Geithner, served under President Obama. Former Treasury Secretary Richard Rubin served under President Clinton.
The entire statement is included below:
The Federal Reserve's independence and the public's perception of that independence are critical for economic performance, including achieving the goals Congress has set for the Federal Reserve of stable prices, maximum employment, and moderate long-term interest rates. The reported criminal inquiry into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell is an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine that independence. This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly. It has no place in the United States whose greatest strength is the rule of law, which is at the foundation of our economic success.
Powell said the probe is "a consequence" of ignoring Trump's wishes.
On Sunday night, Powell said that the Federal Reserve had received grand jury subpoenas related to his testimony before the Senate in the summer. A subpoena is not an indictment, but it does demonstrate the extent to which the Justice Department is willing to pursue the case.
For months, Trump and the White House have argued that Powell misled Congress in his discussion of the renovations to the Federal Reserve building. In July, Powell led Trump and reporters on a tour of the $2.5 billion renovation, although the episode did not end the tensions between the pair.
In his statement, Powell said that the criminal investigation was "not about Congress's oversight role" but rather retaliation for the Fed's repeated decisions to hold interest rates steady before voting to lower rates in September.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire Powell (a power that no president may have over the central bank chair) and has engaged in a very public search for Powell's replacement. Powell's term runs through May.