by WorldTribune Staff, March 15, 2026 Real World News
Anti-Trump U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Friday rejected the Department of Justice’s subpoenas issued to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
Boasberg, an Obama appointee, took aim at President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, saying the subpoenas were improperly issued after the president pressured Powell to lower interest rates.
“There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ 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,” wrote Boasberg.
The Justice Department said it will appeal the judge’s decision.
Boasberg has made several notable decisions against the Trump administration, including blocking deportation flights and ruling that the administration showed a “willful disregard” for his orders. His rulings have been part of a broader pattern of judicial challenges to the administration’s policies.
Federal investigators in January opened a criminal investigation into Powell.
Pirro said she opened the investigation to examine whether Powell gave false testimony to Congress last summer about the central bank’s building-renovation project.
Related: Judge Boasberg sent Trump supporters to prison on charges overturned by Supreme Court, March 18, 2025
Powell, in a Jan. 11 video statement, said the investigation was a pretext for Trump’s campaign to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates and end the independence of the central bank.
Pirro on Friday called Boasberg an “activist judge” and said the decision “neutered” the grand jury’s ability to investigate crime.
“As a result, Jerome Powell today is now bathed in immunity, preventing my office from investigating the Federal Reserve,” she said. “This is wrong, and it is without legal authority.”
Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh to replace Powell.
Trump continues to push the Fed to cut interest rates.
The president on Thursday demanded the central bank lower rates before its scheduled two-day policy meeting next week, where officials are widely expected to hold rates steady.
BOMBSHELL: Jeanine Pirro is holding a press conference after Boasberg, the RADICAL ACTIVIST, blocked a subpoena into Jerome Powell, and IT’S ON!
“This is UNTETHERED from the law.”
Jerome and Boasberg are currently the “ANTITHESIS OF JUSTICE.”
“It is NOT how our criminal… pic.twitter.com/yUS4ViBdU9
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) March 13, 2026
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