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Trump Prosecutors vs Fed Chair Powell... GOP Senator Tillis will oppose Powell's replacement
"It’s come to this. Sunday night brought news that the Federal Reserve was being served grand jury subpoenas threatening a criminal indictment, on the basis that Chairman Jerome Powell allegedly misled Congress last year in testimony on the ongoing refurbishment of the central bank’s buildings. It is a bizarre, dangerous and self-wounding approach that cannot help the US or its monetary system. The Fed’s governance isn’t simple, and its independence in its current form raises many valid issues about democratic accountability. But that doesn’t for a second justify using the Department of Justice and the law to bully the institution or a public servant who is about to leave his job in any case."
"What makes this so bizarre is that it is unnecessary. It’s a repetition of the tactic that the Trump administration has been using in trying to fire Lisa Cook as a Fed governor, on allegations of mortgage fraud (which look very flimsy). It’s unclear that prosecuting her would succeed, and the Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on whether the president has the right to fire her, given the central bank’s independent status. If the administration wants to set a precedent that it can push the Fed about, that’s the forum to do it."
"Powell leaves the chairmanship in May. He could carry on as a governor for another two years, but most assume he’ll resign. Pursuing prosecution might, if anything, make him more likely to stay around. The Fed’s regional presidencies will be renewed shortly, so the chance to remake the central bank’s governing body is gone for now. And the political optics are bad. If it can really be a criminal offense to spend too much refurbishing an historic Washington building, it might set a precedent for examining the recent demolition of the East Wing of the White House."
Yeah, nothing strategic or rational is happening here. This is a politically motivated attack that serves no purpose. Simply another example of trump's dictatorial ego getting in the way of anything productive.
Fascists send messages that anyone who does not cooperate fully with the authoritarian agenda will be targeted. The sheeple will fall into line. Good people will resist.
FWIW Saying I suspect he'll stay on as governor either to spite Donnie and/or for the good of the Fed/country/economy so that Donnie can't fill his seat juuuust yet.
"Ex-Fed officials and policymakers also sounded the alarm, warning that this action could damage the US economy. 'The reported criminal inquiry into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell is an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine that independence,' a blunt statement signed by 13 former senior officials, including Greenspan, Bernanke and Yellen, said. 'This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly.'"
"A string of analysts drew parallels to when price growth soared after the then president, Richard Nixon, put pressure on the Fed chair, Arthur Burns, to ease monetary policy to help smooth his 1972 election campaign."
I keep coming back to the fact that Trump did not so much win the last election as Harris lost it. She would have beaten him handily if she got Biden's vote totals. Trump did not get that many more votes in 2024 than he did in 2016, but Dems cratered.
It is surprising that people could not remember how bad he was at governing especially during the pandemic but by that time inflation was 9% etc adn Dems could not get out of their "culture box".
The failure of the Democratic party to limit Biden to one term and not to run an alternative effective platform dealing with all of the economic woes are what killed them... in addition to the cultural Woke baggage
I think that pic of the Orange Menace is actually his MUG-SHOT (?) Edited, to leave out the reference to Georgia Law Enforcement. Criminal Felon slime. My friend lately was sworn in as a citizen of the USA. At the Federal Building, it looked like the same shot was hanging on the wall. Did I mention that he is a FELON? DONALD, I mean. Not Danny.
@sma3. Re:Harris lost it.” How many voters in this vast country would not vote for a woman? How many voters in this vast country wouldn’t vote for a person of color? Maybe these voters just stayed home. The numbers might not be insignificant. Or phrased another way,,, if the Democrats had a white candidate named Ken Harris with all the same positions how would the vote count turned out?
From the many people I know who voted for her, a Ken Harris would have gotten even fewer votes. People are getting fed up with both the parties and they will continue to get screwed by both until the voters demand term limits. Look at all the Congress persons suddenly seem to grow a spine when they decide not to seek re-election or when they lose their seat. Weak people get corrupt leaders (or corrupt their leaders) and the vicious circle continues. Strong people take responsibility.
@BaluBalu. With all due respect,,,, both partyism is a total crock of shit. The most mediocre, uninspiring and incompetent Democrat is miles ahead of what the republicans have unleashed on this country and more broadly ,, the entire world. It’s an all hands on deck moment for patriots and freedom loving Americans. Only one party, the Republican Party, elected the orange regime, supports the orange regime and condones the lawlessness, the corruption and the destruction of the constitution on a DAILY basis. OPEN YOUR EYES!!! Now is not the time to whine about weak Democrats,,,, it’s the time to rail loudly at what your republican friends are allowing to happen to our democracy,,, however flawed it may be. HAVE YOU WATCHED THE NEWS?
abusing / killing your friends, will leave with fewer on your team. Suicide bombing in a friendly crowd is the fastest way to get to a team of 0. I will go back to staying away from this crowded place.
From the many people I know who voted for her, a Ken Harris would have gotten even fewer votes. People are getting fed up with both the parties and they will continue to get screwed by both until the voters demand term limits. Look at all the Congress persons suddenly seem to grow a spine when they decide not to seek re-election or when they lose their seat. Weak people get corrupt leaders (or corrupt their leaders) and the vicious circle continues. Strong people take responsibility.
I agree with all of this, except the notion that a male white guy would have gotten fewer votes. Impossible to say.
Still, the conclusion you appear to be drawing, that (some believe) the "solution" to any of it is not stopping fascists at the polls. I do not concur with that. Letting maga win an election is only to make everything worse.
Term limits is a great idea. And not likely to come about by Dems abstaining to vote.
"Trump’s loose talk about Comey and James helped sink those prosecutions, at least for now, and it has already complicated other criminal and civil cases, including the effort to prosecute and deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia and Trump’s bid to remove Powell’s colleague, Fed governor Lisa Cook. Schiff has worked to preempt potential mortgage fraud charges by framing them as a product of Trump’s years-long vendetta against him."
The article details other examples where trump has shot his desired prosecutions in the foot.
@BaluBalu. With all due respect,,,, both partyism is a total crock of shit. The most mediocre, uninspiring and incompetent Democrat is miles ahead of what the republicans have unleashed on this country and more broadly ,, the entire world. It’s an all hands on deck moment for patriots and freedom loving Americans. Only one party, the Republican Party, elected the orange regime, supports the orange regime and condones the lawlessness, the corruption and the destruction of the constitution on a DAILY basis. OPEN YOUR EYES!!! Now is not the time to whine about weak Democrats,,,, it’s the time to rail loudly at what your republican friends are allowing to happen to our democracy,,, however flawed it may be. HAVE YOU WATCHED THE NEWS?
**************************
Yes. The Repugnants sold their soul decades ago. I'd prefer to see Dems. in place, if those were my only 2 choices. They can't get their shit together, but at least they're not openly destroying the country. But those are not the only two choices. Give me a big stack of Bernies and AOCs. Then we might get somewhere. As it is, the American people will have to spend decades attempting to put Humpty Dumpty together again.
*Humpty Dumpty was pushed. It was the Repugnants. It's been a gradual process, going back to Ronny Ray-guns and Gingrich the Newt. Then it accelerated with the Orange Child-Menace.
@Crash. I remember a discussion I had with a guy who seemed very old to me at the time. I was bragging that I had never voted for a republican, unlike some of my peers. He smiled at me and said something like I have never voted for a Democrat. I guess I made a face and he explained that he was and would forever vote socialist. I never forgot that moment. And just a few days ago my son in law , who has not much use for me, reminded me that in 2010 I had warned him about republicans. He told me that it turned out that I was right.
@larryB: Shelby Foote reminded viewers (K. Burns' The Civil War) that our system is basedon compromise. Often, and from the beginning, it's distasteful compromises--- like allowing slavery to continue. What happened in the pre-1861 years leading up to the war was that the "leaders" were unable or unwilling to compromise any further.
Translation: the Southern elite would not relinquish their slaves as slaves, and (maybe) just agree to EMPLOY them. (Well, we know from our School D-A-Z-E what kind of life sharecropping was, eh?). Call it PROTECTING VESTED INTERESTS, to be blunt about it.
Somehow, "the poor must always help the rich to save the British Army." I stole those words from a verse in an Irish Rebel song. But the parallel fits: here in the USA, somehow, the working class is so easily manhandled, pushed, gaslighted and convinced to go along with the elitist agenda. More recently, it is simply the most generic and foundational vested interest which the elite want to protect: to protect their money from taxes, which would ostensibly go to serve the common good. Clearly, they just don't care about the common good.
Of course, the argument could always be made that too many tax dollars get wasted or spent on a bridge to nowhere. That's eternal and undeniable. But it doesn't wash away our collective responsibility to each other. By definition, that's what a society IS.
Comments
"It’s come to this. Sunday night brought news that the Federal Reserve was being served grand jury subpoenas
threatening a criminal indictment, on the basis that Chairman Jerome Powell allegedly misled Congress
last year in testimony on the ongoing refurbishment of the central bank’s buildings.
It is a bizarre, dangerous and self-wounding approach that cannot help the US or its monetary system.
The Fed’s governance isn’t simple, and its independence in its current form raises many valid issues
about democratic accountability. But that doesn’t for a second justify using the Department of Justice
and the law to bully the institution or a public servant who is about to leave his job in any case."
"What makes this so bizarre is that it is unnecessary.
It’s a repetition of the tactic that the Trump administration has been using in trying to fire Lisa Cook
as a Fed governor, on allegations of mortgage fraud (which look very flimsy).
It’s unclear that prosecuting her would succeed, and the Supreme Court will hear arguments
next week on whether the president has the right to fire her, given the central bank’s independent status.
If the administration wants to set a precedent that it can push the Fed about, that’s the forum to do it."
"Powell leaves the chairmanship in May.
He could carry on as a governor for another two years, but most assume he’ll resign.
Pursuing prosecution might, if anything, make him more likely to stay around.
The Fed’s regional presidencies will be renewed shortly, so the chance to remake the central bank’s
governing body is gone for now. And the political optics are bad.
If it can really be a criminal offense to spend too much refurbishing an historic Washington building,
it might set a precedent for examining the recent demolition of the East Wing of the White House."
Fascists send messages that anyone who does not cooperate fully with the authoritarian agenda will be targeted. The sheeple will fall into line. Good people will resist.
Justice Department, Amna Nawaz discusses the developments with Janet Yellen.
She served as chair of the Federal Reserve Board from 2014 to 2018 and was Treasury Secretary
during the Biden administration."
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trumps-intimidation-of-feds-leadership-threatens-economic-stability-yellen-says
could damage the US economy. 'The reported criminal inquiry into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell
is an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine that independence,'
a blunt statement signed by 13 former senior officials, including Greenspan, Bernanke and Yellen, said.
'This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions,
with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly.'"
"A string of analysts drew parallels to when price growth soared after the then president,
Richard Nixon, put pressure on the Fed chair, Arthur Burns, to ease monetary policy
to help smooth his 1972 election campaign."
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/12/trump-condemn-federal-reserve-powell-investigation
It is surprising that people could not remember how bad he was at governing especially during the pandemic but by that time inflation was 9% etc adn Dems could not get out of their "culture box".
The failure of the Democratic party to limit Biden to one term and not to run an alternative effective platform dealing with all of the economic woes are what killed them... in addition to the cultural Woke baggage
Hopefully they listen to the rising stars
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/opinion/marie-gluesenkamp-perez.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
cws-market-review-january-13-2026.html
Still, the conclusion you appear to be drawing, that (some believe) the "solution" to any of it is not stopping fascists at the polls. I do not concur with that. Letting maga win an election is only to make everything worse.
Term limits is a great idea. And not likely to come about by Dems abstaining to vote.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/13/jerome-powell-donald-trump-investigation-00722860
"Trump’s loose talk about Comey and James helped sink those prosecutions, at least for now, and it has already complicated other criminal and civil cases, including the effort to prosecute and deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia and Trump’s bid to remove Powell’s colleague, Fed governor Lisa Cook. Schiff has worked to preempt potential mortgage fraud charges by framing them as a product of Trump’s years-long vendetta against him."
The article details other examples where trump has shot his desired prosecutions in the foot.
Yes. The Repugnants sold their soul decades ago. I'd prefer to see Dems. in place, if those were my only 2 choices. They can't get their shit together, but at least they're not openly destroying the country. But those are not the only two choices. Give me a big stack of Bernies and AOCs. Then we might get somewhere. As it is, the American people will have to spend decades attempting to put Humpty Dumpty together again.
*Humpty Dumpty was pushed. It was the Repugnants. It's been a gradual process, going back to Ronny Ray-guns and Gingrich the Newt. Then it accelerated with the Orange Child-Menace.
@larryB: Shelby Foote reminded viewers (K. Burns' The Civil War) that our system is based on compromise. Often, and from the beginning, it's distasteful compromises--- like allowing slavery to continue. What happened in the pre-1861 years leading up to the war was that the "leaders" were unable or unwilling to compromise any further.
Translation: the Southern elite would not relinquish their slaves as slaves, and (maybe) just agree to EMPLOY them. (Well, we know from our School D-A-Z-E what kind of life sharecropping was, eh?). Call it PROTECTING VESTED INTERESTS, to be blunt about it.
Somehow, "the poor must always help the rich to save the British Army." I stole those words from a verse in an Irish Rebel song. But the parallel fits: here in the USA, somehow, the working class is so easily manhandled, pushed, gaslighted and convinced to go along with the elitist agenda. More recently, it is simply the most generic and foundational vested interest which the elite want to protect: to protect their money from taxes, which would ostensibly go to serve the common good. Clearly, they just don't care about the common good.
Of course, the argument could always be made that too many tax dollars get wasted or spent on a bridge to nowhere. That's eternal and undeniable. But it doesn't wash away our collective responsibility to each other. By definition, that's what a society IS.