A judge dismisses Trump's accusations against the Fed chairman.

WashingtonA federal judge has dismissed the criminal charges brought by the Justice Department against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In his ruling, Judge James Boasberg stated that the accusations against Powell were illegitimate. The injunction issued this Friday represents another legal setback for Donald Trump's attempts to undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve. "There is sufficient evidence that the dominant (if not sole) purpose of the subpoenas is to harass and pressure Powell into either bowing to the president or resigning and making way for a Federal Reserve chairman who will," Boasberg wrote in the ruling. The Justice Department—which has become the tycoon's personal ministry for settling scores—had opened a criminal investigation against Powell to determine whether he committed perjury before Congress when he reported on the central bank building renovation project. Trump has not yet commented on the injunction, but the prosecutor who filed the charges, Jeanine Pirro, has. "This is wrong and has no legal basis," Pirro said at a press conference, where she also stated that the Justice Department "will appeal this outrageous decision." Pirro's reaction was expected, as it follows the pattern the administration has been using with other rulings, as seen in the attempted dismissal of Fed Governor Lisa Cook. After Trump's attempt to remove Cook was dismissed in the appeals court, the president escalated the dispute to the Supreme Court. Trump's strategy of bringing Cook's case to the Supreme Court aims to establish a precedent that allows him to interpret the Federal Reserve's founding charter much more loosely. This is all to ensure that he can more easily dismiss other Fed members who don't align with his views in the future. The high court has yet to rule on Cook, and given how the governor's case has unfolded, Powell's case will most likely follow the same path to the Supreme Court.

The criminal investigation provoked an unprecedented response from Powell. The Fed chairman, who until then had stoically endured Trump's attacks and pressure, posted a forceful video on social media that left no room for doubt: "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue setting interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether monetary policy will instead be..."

Powell denounced both the testimony and the renovation of the Fed headquarters as "pretexts" the Trump administration was using to punish the central bank for not yielding to its pressure to lower rates.

The renovations at the Fed

Trump and other high-ranking government officials have criticized the renovation of the Fed headquarters, and last summer Trump complained that the total cost had risen from the previously known $2.5 billion, $700 million more than the initial plan, to $3.1 billion, a claim Powell refuted. The scene, which was captured on camera and became a source of ridicule for Trump at the time, apparently displeased the tycoon.

The incident came after months of pressure from the US president against Powell for not yielding to his demands. Since returning to the White House, Trump has been orchestrating a campaign of harassment against the US central bank to force it to lower interest rates. On numerous occasions, the Republican has said that Powell should be fired and has discredited him.