Bum Rap
Trump's personal lawyers at the Justice Dept. (DoDJT), led by DC US Attorney Box Wine Jeanine Pirro, have opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell over the central bank’s renovation of its Washington headquarters and whether Mr. Powell lied to Congress about the scope of the project.
Mafia Don claimed to not “know anything” about the investigation, which means he’s either lying or he hasn’t a clue what his administration is doing. It is doubtful that Trump’s latest legal scumbaggery will result in an indictment, much less conviction. Indictments against two of Trump’s political opponents, James B. Comey and Letitia James, were thrown out in November by a federal judge.
This renovation and modernization of two Fed buildings is the first since their construction in the 1930s. Health and safety measures, like asbestos and lead pollution remediation, are a part of the upgrades. The $3.1B project is 24% over budget. For comparison, the current estimate for the White House Billionaire’s Ballroom at $400M is 100% greater than Trump’s estimate six months ago.
Despite the Don appointing Powell the Fed chair in 2017, he has constantly bitched about Powell’s failure to lower interest rates and provide Trump a temporary political advantage. He has spewed a swarm of middle-school insults at Powell, calling him a “Clown,” “Dummy,” “Major Loser,” “Numbskull,” “Fool,” “Knucklehead,” and “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell.” Powell’s term as chairman ends in May, but Trump is eager to goose the economy ahead of the 2026 midterms, inflation be damned. Richard Nixon, Trump’s political soulmate, pressured Fed chair Arthur Burns to ease monetary policy to boost his 1972 election campaign. Inflation rose to 12% in 1974.
Thirteen former senior Fed officials, including ex-Fed chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and Janet Yellen, condemned the ‘unprecedented’ assault on the Fed’s independence. “You have a president that says the Fed should be cutting rates to lower rate payments on the federal debt,” said former Fed Chair Yellen. “It is the road to a banana republic.”