Is Powell’s Fed head independence dead? Trump outfoxes himself this time

The only surprising quality regarding President Trump unleashing federal investigators to prepare potential prosecution criminal charges against the highly respected Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell — a Trump appointee himself — is that anyone is surprised by this news.

Financial markets initially dropped before rebounding as investors blew off Trump’s Justice Department move as the flailing bluster of a lame duck and a fissure opened in the GOP, with open concern about the sacred...