A federal judge blocked the criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, ruling the federal investigation into a renovation project seemed to be a pretext for harassing the central banker into doing President Trump’s bidding.
Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, in his order, said the “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 government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the president,” he wrote.
The order is a blow to the Trump administration’s effort to probe a Fed headquarters renovation project that had cost overruns.
Mr. Trump, who prodded Mr. Powell for weeks to lower interest rates, said the project’s high costs seemed fishy.
Yet the development could clear the way for Mr. Trump’s pick to lead the Fed, Kevin Warsh, to be confirmed by the Senate.
Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, had vowed to block Mr. Warsh and other Fed nominees from being confirmed until the probe against Mr. Powell was resolved.
Mr. Powell’s term ends in May, but the Warsh nomination had no clear path forward because of Mr. Tillis’ position.
“This ruling confirms just how weak and frivolous the criminal investigation of Chairman Powell is, and it is nothing more than a failed attack on Fed independence,” Mr. Tillis wrote on X after the Boasberg ruling.
“We all know how this is going to end, and the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s office should save itself further embarrassment and move on,” he wrote. “Appealing the ruling will only delay the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair.”
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro slammed the decision as the work of an “activist judge” and vowed to appeal.
“Jerome Powell is now bathed in immunity preventing my office from investigating the Federal Reserve. This is wrong and it is without legal authority,” Ms. Pirro said.
“This judge,” she said, “has put himself at the entrance door to the grand jury, slamming that door shut, irrespective of the legal process and thus preventing the grand jury from doing the work that it does.”
Judge Boasberg started his 27-page ruling with a social media post from Mr. Trump that ridiculed Mr. Powell over his reluctance to lower interest rates. The judge said it was one of at least 100 statements by the president or his deputies urging Mr. Powell to act.
The central bank was reluctant to lower interest rates because it feared inflation from Mr. Trump’s tariff system. Inflation gradually cooled, however, and concerns about low hiring compelled the bank to lower interest rates three times in late 2025.
However, the bank did not move fast enough for Mr. Trump, who continued to criticize Mr. Powell over inaction on rates and the Fed building project.
Mr. Powell, in a surprise move, released a video statement about the subpoenas in January. He said he would not be intimidated and planned to serve out his term.
Prosecutors were reportedly focused on whether Mr. Powell misled Congress with testimony he gave about the project. Mr. Tillis and others said the Justice Department was parsing his language too closely.
Ultimately, Judge Boasberg said there was a “mountain of evidence” that the subpoenas against Mr. Powell were meritless.
“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,” Judge Boasberg wrote. “The court therefore finds that the subpoenas were issued for an improper purpose and will quash them.”
