patrick.net

1. Powell is the one who decided to disclose the existence of the grand jury subpoena, not the government. The government is generally prohibited from discussing grand jury proceedings.

2. Contrary to Powell’s statement, service of a subpoena on the Fed is not a threat to indict him. Subpoenas are investigative tools. It’s possible that the government separately advised Powell that he was a “target” of the investigation, but he didn’t say that.

3. Nowhere in the statement does Powell say his testimony to Congress about the Fed construction project was truthful and accurate.

The United States Attorney’s Office contacted the Federal Reserve on multiple occasions to discuss cost overruns and the chairman’s congressional testimony, but were ignored, necessitating the use of legal process—which is not a threat.

The word “indictment” has come out of Mr. Powell’s mouth, no one else’s. None of this would have happened if they had just responded to our outreach.

This office makes decisions based on the merits, nothing more and nothing less. We agree with the chairman of the Federal Reserve that no one is above the law, and that is why we expect his full cooperation.