Powell blasts DOJ criminal probe as attack on Fed independence. ‘Public service sometimes requires standing firm in the face of threats’

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell called out the Trump administration for attacking the central bank’s independence, saying a criminal probe is due to the Fed’s refusal to lower rates earlier this year as President Donald Trump demanded.

He said in a statement Sunday that the Justice Department served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment over his testimony before the Senate last June related to renovations on the headquarters, which has seen cost overruns.