A federal judge has blocked the Justice Department’s effort to issue grand jury subpoenas targeting the Federal Reserve Board. The judge concluded the move appeared to be an attempt to pressure Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who has issued a number of rulings against the Trump administration, made the determination in a newly unsealed ruling. He said prosecutors failed to present evidence that Powell committed any crime, Fox News reported.
Boasberg wrote that the subpoenas appeared to serve an improper purpose. He suggested the effort was intended to pressure Powell into lowering interest rates or stepping down.
“Did prosecutors issue those subpoenas for a proper purpose? The Court finds that they did not. 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,” he wrote.
The dispute stems from a criminal inquiry opened earlier this year by U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro. The investigation focused on Powell’s June 2025 testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.
That testimony centered on the Federal Reserve’s long-running renovation project at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Powell disclosed the existence of the investigation in January and described it as an attack on the central bank’s independence.
Pirro responded Friday by announcing that the Justice Department will appeal the ruling. She accused Boasberg of interfering with the legal process.
“This process has been arbitrarily undermined by an activist judge,” Pirro said, arguing further that the ruling improperly blocked prosecutors from pursuing the case.
“Boasberg put himself at the entrance door to the grand jury, slamming that door shut — irrespective of the legal process — and thus preventing the grand jury from doing the work that it does,” she continued.
An appeal could extend the legal fight over Powell’s future at the Federal Reserve. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell and has suggested replacing him.
Trump has floated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh as a potential successor. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina referenced that possibility in a social media post reacting to the ruling.
“The ruling confirms just how weak and frivolous the criminal investigation of Chairman Powell is, and it is nothing more than a failed attack on Fed independence,” Tillis told reporters on Friday.
He suggested that continuing the case would only prolong the process. “We all know how this is going to end, and the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office should save itself further embarrassment and move on. Appealing the ruling will only delay the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair.”
In his ruling, Boasberg cited numerous public statements by Trump criticizing Powell. The judge said those remarks appeared to show an effort to pressure the Fed chair over interest rate policy.
Boasberg referenced one post in which Trump harshly criticized Powell’s leadership: “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell has done it again!!! He is TOO LATE, and actually, TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL, to have the job of Fed Chair.”
The judge said such comments reflected a broader pattern of public pressure. He noted that Trump and his allies have repeatedly attacked Powell over monetary policy.