Judge Rejects Subpoenas of Fed Board in Powell Case

Mar 13, 2026

Guest

Katrina Manson

Katrina Manson, tech and national security reporter, on Project Maven and AI in military use. Oleksandr Komarov, CEO of Kyivstar, on telecom resilience and wartime operations. Mike Collins, fixed-income strategist, on credit, rates and market drivers. Elliot Stein, litigation analyst, on the legal fight over subpoenas and courtroom standards. Multiple short, fast-moving conversations about law, markets and survival under strain.

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INSIGHT

Judge Finds DOJ Subpoenas Motivated By Retaliation

Judge James Boasberg found DOJ subpoenas to the Federal Reserve Board showed an improper motive tied to retaliation over policy differences.
The ruling called DOJ's justifications thin and pretextual, saying the government produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Jerome Powell of a crime.

ADVICE

Ask For Reconsideration Then Appeal If Standard Is Wrong

If DOJ believes a judge applied the wrong legal standard, pursue reconsideration then appeal as the next steps.
Elliot Stein notes DOJ said it would ask the judge to reconsider before appealing, which will delay related nominations.

INSIGHT

Investigation Could Shape Fed Leadership Timing

A stalled DOJ investigation can influence Fed leadership transitions and nominations.
Elliot Stein outlines a scenario where Powell steps down as chair on May 15 and Trump names an acting chair like Stephen Moore while nominations remain delayed.

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A federal judge rejected as improper Justice Department subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve Board seeking records relating to its renovations of its headquarters and Chair Jerome Powell’s comments to Congress about the project.

US District Judge James Boasberg said the government had advanced no evidence to justify the subpoenas and said they clearly reflected an “improper motive” of retaliating against Powell over policy differences. Jeanine Pirro, who leads the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, called the ruling wrong and said they would appeal the decision.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Fed declined to comment.

“A mountain of evidence suggests that the government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning,” Boasberg said. “On the other side of the scale, the government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the court can only conclude that they are pretextual.”

DOJ issued subpoenas to the Fed in January threatening a criminal indictment, Powell said at the time. The subpoenas are related to the Fed’s ongoing $2.5 billion renovation of its headquarters in Washington and testimony Powell provided about the construction before the Senate Banking panel last year.

Powell, in an unusually forceful video response to the subpoenas, characterized the investigation as motivated by the Fed refusing to set interest rates according to the preferences of President Donald Trump.

Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, has been nominated by Trump to replace Powell when the latter’s term as chair ends in May. North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has vowed to block any Fed nominations as long as the DOJ investigation of Powell remains unresolved. Tillis reiterated that commitment this week.

Today's show features:

Elliot Stein, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Litigation Analyst
Mike Collins, PGIM Fixed Income Managing Director & Executive Portfolio Advisor
Oleksandr Komarov, Kyivstar CEO
Katrina Manson, Bloomberg News Reporter covering Tech and National Security

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