The Trump administration's investigation into the Federal Reserve was dealt a severe blow on Friday, as a federal judge in Washington, D.C. quashed U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's subpoenas.
According to the Wall Street Journal, "Pirro, a longtime ally of President Trump, opened the probe to examine whether [Fed Chairman Jerome] Powell gave false testimony to Congress last summer about the central bank’s building-renovation project. The move prompted an unprecedented public response from Powell, who in a Jan. 11 video statement said the investigation was a pretext for Trump’s continuing campaign to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates and end the independence of the central bank."
The Federal Reserve responded to Pirro's investigation by filing a motion to quash the subpoenas last month.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg granted the order, agreeing with the Fed that Trump's repeated attacks on the chairman indicate the investigation into the building renovation was pretextual and politically motivated.
“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, who has previously clashed with the Trump administration and investigated executive officials for contempt of court.