United States|According to Governor Jerome Powell, the background to the investigation started by the Ministry of Justice is actually that the central bank has not followed President Trump’s will to lower key interest rates.
of the United States the governor of the central bank (Fed). Jerome Powell a criminal investigation has been initiated into the speeches to the US Congress, say a US channel, for example CNN and Reuters news agency.
The background of the investigation is the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters, the price of which has swelled to 2.5 billion dollars, or about 2.1 billion euros. Powell was heard by the Senate Banking Committee in June about the overhaul, which has not kept to its original budget.
President of the United States Donald Trump has loudly criticized Powell and hinted at his dismissal, because the Fed led by Powell has kept policy rate at a significantly higher level than the president would have wished. Trump has also criticized Powell for the cost of overhauling the central bank.
News channel NBC:lle Trump recently denied his involvement in the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Powell.
“I don’t know anything about it, but he’s really not very good at the central bank, and he’s not terribly good at building buildings either,” Trump commented on NBC Sunday night.
At the same time, Trump denied that the Justice Department’s investigation had anything to do with the Fed’s interest rate policy.
On Sunday published on the central bank’s website in the statement Powell states that he considers the real reason for the criminal investigation to be that the central bank has not followed the will of the president in its key interest rate decisions.
“The question is whether the Fed can continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether monetary policy will be guided by political pressure or intimidation,” Powell said in a statement.
“No one, especially the governor of the central bank, is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be viewed as part of a broader continuum of threats and pressure from the administration.”
Criminal investigation starts at the same time as a new governor is being chosen for the central bank. Powell has served as the head of the Fed since 2018, and his current term at the helm of the central bank ends in May.
According to CNN, Trump has said he will announce his choice for the new president “early” this year.
As Trump’s favorites to become the new CEO has been held Head of the US National Economic Council Kevin Hassett and a former member of the Fed’s executive board Kevin Warshia. Trump is also expected to interview a member of the management of the asset management company Blackrock for the position Rick Rieder.