Exasperated WSJ begs Trump to 'take the hint' as court blows up revenge case
The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board on Monday begged President Donald Trump to "take the hint" about a case he is pursuing against a political foe.
For months, Trump has tried to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell because of his hesitance to lower federal interest rates. A federal judge recently rebuffed a Trump-appointed prosecutor's efforts to subpoena Powell, and the WSJ editorial board noted that the judge's "evidence and reasoning are sound."
"President Trump’s lawfare efforts aren’t faring well in court, and the latest example is a federal judge’s decision last week to quash subpoenas in a probe of ... Powell," the editorial board wrote. "Mr. Trump would be wise to take the hint and abandon the case so his nominee, Kevin Warsh, can be confirmed as the next Chairman."
"The chronology of events suggests that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro was responding to pressure from Mr. Trump to target Mr. Powell in a criminal case without evidence of criminal behavior," the editorial continued. "The smart move now is for the White House to take the loss and drop the case. Don’t appeal. The quicker the case is gone, the sooner Mr. Warsh can get through the Senate Banking Committee and onto the Senate floor to be confirmed. It’s also more likely that if the case goes away, Mr. Powell might resign from his Fed seat and Mr. Trump would get another appointment to the seven-member board."