# Federal Reserve Chairman Says He's Under Criminal Investigation **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 12, 2026, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-reserve-chairman-says-hes-under-criminal-investigation/1026579 "2026-01-12T02:00:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-reserve-chairman-says-hes-under-criminal-investigation/1026579/1 "2026-01-12T02:00:11Z")
Jerome Powell, FTC Chairman, says the Department of Justice is investigating criminal charges against him. Powell says it’s in retaliation for his interest rate policy, which is not in agreement with Trump’s. The DOJ says it’s in connection with his testimony to Congress about renovations to Federal reserve buildings. [Fed Chair Powell says he’s under criminal investigation, won’t bow to Trump intimidation](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/fed-chair-powell-says-he-s-under-criminal-investigation-won-t-bow-to-trump-intimidation/ar-AA1U0UX0?ocid=winp2fp&cvid=6964539d5202444cb2ceaea380842ccb&ei=30) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-reserve-chairman-says-hes-under-criminal-investigation/1026579/2 "2026-01-12T03:26:50Z")
Didn’t that whole thing come up in a walking conversation between Powell and Trump, which was recorded on camera, and where Powell eviscerated Trump’s claims about cost overruns? They were wearing hard hats and Powell was carrying a bunch of papers. Oh yeah, there’s a photo of that occasion in the linked article, it was last July. I’m glad Powell is not caving to intimidation. It helps to prevent the scenarios that have been discussed in the “How long would you survive…” thread. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-reserve-chairman-says-hes-under-criminal-investigation/1026579/3 "2026-01-12T06:09:29Z")
Powell posted a response to the charges today. > ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-reserve-chairman-says-hes-under-criminal-investigation/1026579/4 "2026-01-12T11:39:54Z")
It seems like every single day Trump provides a reason for me to say: Republicans must be _so_ proud of themselves! ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-reserve-chairman-says-hes-under-criminal-investigation/1026579/5 "2026-01-12T16:55:37Z")
Congressional Perjury and Mortgages. These are becoming more common investigation/charges now. Off the top of my head - Comey, Tish James, Schiff, now Powell. It feels like these are the preferred manufactured ways in which Trump DOJ has been going after his enemies. I’d guess they are very common (everyone testifies, everyone has a house) and relatively easy to get past a grand jury. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-reserve-chairman-says-hes-under-criminal-investigation/1026579/6 "2026-01-12T17:01:55Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I’m glad Powell is not caving to intimidation. Yup. I’ve said multiple times on this board, and it keeps being proven over and over again, but Trump loves to toss out “investigations” to harass and intimidate his enemies despite having absolutely no justification for them and having zero chance of them going anywhere. He just wants to use them as a club to beat anyone who defies him. It gets to the point where “investigations” become meaningless when they come from his DOJ. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-reserve-chairman-says-hes-under-criminal-investigation/1026579/7 "2026-01-12T17:14:20Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > It seems like every single day Trump provides a reason for me to say: Republicans must be _so_ proud of themselves! The problem being is that they _are._ ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-reserve-chairman-says-hes-under-criminal-investigation/1026579/8 "2026-01-13T08:21:41Z")
Look over here: what Epstein investigation or is Venezuela oil reserves practically ripe for investigation? nope, let’s go for a banana republic economy! ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/federal-reserve-chairman-says-hes-under-criminal-investigation/1026579/9 "2026-01-13T13:29:06Z")
Statement of international central banks in support of Powell: > **[International central bankers on the statement by Federal Reserve Chair...](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.pr260113~ec4630b9fa.en.html)** > > The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank of the European Union countries which have adopted the euro. Our main task is to maintain price stability in the euro area and so preserve the purchasing power of the single currency.