Trump Demands Judge Boasberg’s Removal From Trump‑Related Cases After Ruling DOJ Subpoenas to Fed Chair Powell Were Improper Political Pressure
Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg unsealed a scathing opinion quashing DOJ grand jury subpoenas to the Federal Reserve Board seeking records tied to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Senate testimony about a $2.5 billion Fed building renovation, finding the government offered "no evidence whatsoever" he committed a crime and that the subpoenas' dominant purpose was to harass and pressure Powell to yield to the President or resign. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro vowed to appeal and blasted Boasberg as an "activist judge," Sen. Thom Tillis called the probe "weak and frivolous" and threatened to block Kevin Warsh’s confirmation, and President Trump demanded Boasberg be removed from Trump‑related cases and face disciplinary action.
📌 Key Facts
- Judge James Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for D.C., unsealed a March 13 opinion quashing DOJ subpoenas to the Federal Reserve and blocking the department from obtaining records tied to a reported $2.5 billion Fed headquarters renovation.
- Boasberg wrote the government produced "no evidence whatsoever" that Fed Chair Jerome Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President and said there is "abundant evidence" the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose was to harass and pressure Powell to yield to the President or resign, citing Trump’s public attacks on Powell.
- The January subpoenas were framed as seeking information about cost overruns on the Fed renovation and were linked to Powell’s June 2025 Senate Banking Committee testimony; court filings suggested potential criminal exposure if Powell did not comply.
- U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro condemned the ruling in a news conference, calling Boasberg an "activist judge" who had "neutered" the grand jury and effectively granted Powell immunity, and announced the Justice Department will appeal.
- Sen. Thom Tillis praised the opinion as proof the probe is "weak and frivolous," threatened to block President Trump’s Fed nominee Kevin Warsh and warned that an appeal could further delay Warsh’s confirmation, leveraging the GOP’s narrow edge on the Senate Banking Committee.
- Powell had publicly called the investigation a "pretext," warning it risked replacing evidence‑based monetary policy with political intimidation; Axios also reported Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent privately warned the investigation "made a mess" and could threaten financial markets.
- President Trump posted on Truth Social accusing Boasberg of "Trump Derangement Syndrome," calling him "Wacky, Nasty, Crooked" and demanding Boasberg be removed from cases involving Trump and face disciplinary action; Boasberg’s chambers declined to comment.
📊 Relevant Data
Judge James Boasberg was nominated by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2011 to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Fact-checking misleading claims by Trump and his allies about Judge James Boasberg — PBS NewsHour
President Trump nominated Jerome Powell to be Federal Reserve Chair in 2017, but has since repeatedly criticized him for not lowering interest rates aggressively enough.
Trump: Jerome Powell has 'been a lousy Fed chairman' — CBS News
The cost of the Federal Reserve headquarters renovation has increased from $1.9 billion to $2.5 billion, attributed to factors outside the Fed's control such as inflation and supply chain disruptions.
Powell: DOJ using Fed renovation costs as a pretext for his criminal investigation — Facilities Dive
Black unemployment rates have historically been about twice as high as White unemployment rates, and accommodative monetary policies by the Federal Reserve, such as lowering interest rates, have been shown to reduce this racial unemployment gap by improving employment outcomes more for Black workers.
The Fed and the Racial Wealth Gap — Dollars & Sense
Compromising the independence of the Federal Reserve can lead to higher and more volatile inflation, as independent central banks are more effective at maintaining price stability compared to those under political control.
Federal Reserve Independence — Congress.gov
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
"The WSJ editorial critiques the DOJ subpoenas against Fed Chair Jerome Powell, praises Judge Boasberg’s quashing of them, and urges the Trump administration to abandon the case to avoid further legal and political damage and to allow Kevin Warsh’s confirmation."
📰 Source Timeline (7)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- President Donald Trump posted a Sunday night Truth Social statement calling Judge James Boasberg "a Wacky, Nasty, Crooked, and totally Out of Control Judge" who allegedly suffers from "Trump Derangement Syndrome" and has been "after" Trump and his allies for years.
- Trump asserted that Boasberg has shown "open, flagrant, and extreme partisan bias" against Republicans and the Trump administration and should be "removed from all cases" pertaining to them and face "serious disciplinary action."
- Trump specifically attacked Boasberg’s opinion in the Jerome Powell subpoena case, calling it the "‘Too Late’ Powell case" and claiming it was driven by politics rather than law.
- Fox News reports Boasberg’s chambers declined to comment on Trump’s remarks.
- The article notes that a federal judge has quashed DOJ subpoenas targeting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling it a major blow to the Trump administration’s criminal investigation.
- It frames the ruling as a collapse of what it characterizes as a "transparent abuse" of prosecutorial power against the Fed chair.
- Boasberg’s newly unsealed opinion explicitly states, 'The Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President.'
- The opinion says 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.'
- NPR details that the January subpoenas were framed as seeking information about cost overruns on the Fed headquarters renovation.
- U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro held a news conference after unsealing, calling Boasberg an 'activist judge' who has 'neutered the grand jury’s ability to investigate crime' and claiming Powell is now 'bathed in immunity.'
- Sen. Thom Tillis publicly praised the ruling as confirming a 'weak and frivolous' probe and threatened to block a Senate vote on Trump nominee Kevin Warsh to succeed Powell if DOJ appeals.
- The piece underscores Powell’s term expires in May and positions the case directly as a test of the Fed’s ability to set monetary policy without White House interference.
- Identifies the judge as James Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for D.C., and confirms the opinion was unsealed Friday.
- Quotes Boasberg’s line that there is 'abundant evidence' the subpoenas’ 'dominant (if not sole) purpose' was to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the president or resign, and that the government offered 'no evidence whatsoever' Powell committed any crime.
- Details that DOJ, through U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, will appeal the ruling and that she publicly branded Boasberg an 'activist judge' who 'arbitrarily undermined' the investigation.
- Reports that Sen. Thom Tillis is explicitly threatening to block Kevin Warsh’s confirmation as Fed chair unless DOJ drops the Powell investigation, leveraging the GOP’s narrow two‑seat majority on the Senate Banking Committee.
- Adds Powell’s prior public statement calling the probe a 'pretext' and warning it is about whether monetary policy will be set by evidence or by political intimidation, language that Boasberg’s opinion closely echoed.
- Notes prior Axios reporting that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent privately told Trump the investigation 'made a mess' and threatened financial markets, suggesting internal concern within Trump’s economic team about the subpoenas.
- Article provides the judge’s exact language that the government has 'produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime' and that the subpoena justifications are 'thin and unsubstantiated.'
- Includes Boasberg’s finding that there is 'abundant evidence' the subpoenas’ dominant purpose is to 'harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign,' more fully spelling out the political-pressure rationale.
- Details U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s reaction in a news conference, where she called Boasberg an 'activist judge,' said the ruling 'neutered the grand jury's ability to investigate crime' and vowed to appeal.
- Clarifies that the ruling blocks Pirro from obtaining Federal Reserve records related specifically to the $2.5 billion building renovation.
- Adds fresh reaction from Sen. Thom Tillis saying the ruling shows how 'weak and frivolous' the probe is, and warning that appealing will further delay Kevin Warsh’s confirmation as Fed chair.
- Judge Boasberg specifies the subpoenas were sent to the Federal Reserve Board and threatened criminal indictment tied to Powell’s June 2025 Senate Banking Committee testimony about a Fed building renovation.
- Boasberg’s opinion explicitly states there is 'no evidence whatsoever' Powell committed any crime 'other than displeasing the President' and that the subpoenas’ dominant purpose was to harass and pressure him to yield to Trump or resign.
- The article quotes specific Trump social‑media attacks on Powell (including calling him 'TOO STUPID & TOO POLITICAL') that Boasberg cited as part of a pattern of pressure on the Fed.
- U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro held a news conference blasting Boasberg as an 'activist judge,' claiming the ruling 'neutered' the grand jury and wrongly gives Powell 'immunity,' and announced DOJ will appeal.
- Sen. Thom Tillis reacts by saying the ruling confirms the probe is 'weak and frivolous,' reiterates he will block Fed nominees over the investigation, and warns an appeal will further delay Kevin Warsh’s confirmation to succeed Powell.