Republican Senator Thom Tillis praises the ruling. 
Scathing Ruling Blasts Trump Administration
Please consider BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM, Petitioner, v. Miscellaneous Action No. 26-12 (JEB) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent.
Memorandum Opinion
“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. He is costing our Country TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS . . . . Put another way, ‘Too Late’ is a TOTAL LOSER, and our Country is paying the price!” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Truth Soc. (July 31, 2025, at 7:11 AM), https://perma.cc/PX9L-RPSD. That is one of at least 100 statements that the President or his deputies have made attacking the Chair of the Federal Reserve and pressuring him to lower interest rates.
See generally ECF No. 14-1 (Reply to Mot. to Quash) (collecting statements). So is this: “‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell is costing our Country Hundreds of Billions of Dollars. He is truly one of the dumbest, and most destructive, people in Government . . . . TOO LATE’s an American Disgrace!” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Truth Soc. (June 19, 2025, at 10:04 AM), https://perma.cc/748P-CN6T.
Perhaps it comes as no surprise, then, that the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office has recently opened a criminal investigation into Powell. It has served two subpoenas on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, seeking records about recent renovations of the Board’s buildings and testimony that Powell delivered to Congress that briefly discussed those renovations. The Board has now responded with a Motion to Quash, contending that the subpoenas are merely part of the gameplan to pressure Powell to bend to the President’s wishes or to get rid of him. The case thus asks: 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. On the other side of the scale, the Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President. The Court must thus conclude that the asserted justifications for these subpoenas are mere pretexts. It will therefore grant the Board’s Motion to Quash. It will also grant the Board’s Motion to Partially Unseal the Motion to Quash, related briefing, and this Opinion.
Conclusion
A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning. On the other side of the scale, the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual. The Court therefore finds that the subpoenas were issued for an improper purpose and will quash them. It will also unseal redacted versions of the Motion to Quash, related briefing, and this Opinion.
Senator Tillis Agrees
“This 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. 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.”
Tillis has stated he will hold all Trump appointments until Trump drops the case against Powell.
That includes Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair.
It would be idiotic for many reasons to appeal the ruling but guess what.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro Will Appeal
Please note Pirro blasts judge blocking Justice Department subpoenas to Federal Reserve in Powell probe
Judge James Boasberg said that the government has “produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime” and called its justifications for the subpoenas so “thin and unsubstantiated” that they were simply a pretext to force Powell to cut rates, as Trump has repeatedly demanded.
The ruling blocks U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who issued the subpoenas, from obtaining records from the Fed related to the building renovation. Pirro blasted the ruling at a news conferecne and said she would appeal it.
Pirro said an “activist judge” has quashed the subpoenas, and has “neutered the grand jury’s ability to investigate crime” and leaves Powell “bathed in immunity.”
“This is wrong and it is without legal authority,” she said.
These legal morons are truly gluttons for punishment. The odds of winning this appeal are essentially zero.
So, I welcome the appeal. It will only make the DOJ look stupider when the ruling happens.
Then if they go ahead and appeal to the Supreme Court, Kevin Warsh is on hold as next Fed Chair.
We All Know How This Will End
“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,” said Tillis.
Tillis forgot to add, “except the legal morons at the DOJ who were stupid to file these frivolous subpoenas in the first case.”
Second of Many Court Slaps
Please recall: Fearless Predictions, Ten Key Events to Expect in 2026
#1: Trump will Lose His Supreme Court Battle on Reciprocal Tariffs
Expect a 6-3 margin against Trump, possibly 7-2. I rate this a 75 percent chance.
Then If he loses, then there is about a 60 percent chance of at least some of the money will have to be refunded.
Trump will moan the SC is killing the best economy in history. He will also say that the ruling will have no impact at all. This is illogical of course, but seriously, expect both statements.
Trump will pursue other avenues of doing the same things with mixed success (using the word success in terms of what Trump wants, not what’s good for the country).
#2: Trump will Lose His Supreme Court Battle on Birthright Citizenship
Expect a 7-2 vote against Trump. 9-0 would not be a surprise.
I rate this a 90 percent chance.
#3: Trump will lose his Supreme Court battle over the right to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook.
Expect a 6-3 vote against Trump. I rate this a 80 percent chance.
#4: AI will have minimal impact in 2026
There will be some job losses. And some speculation fails. But don’t any extreme job losses or huge numbers of AI-related bankruptcies. Extreme events are unlikely.
I rate this an 75 percent chance.
#5: Tariffs Will Bite
Businesses that can will pass along more costs. In contrast to AI, we will see job losses mount.
Small business bankruptcies soar.
Trump will blame Biden, the Fed, and the Supreme Court for everything bad that happens.
I rate this an 80 percent chance.
#6: Republicans Lose the House
Voters do not believe we have best economy in history. And they will take it out on Republicans in the midterm elections.
It will be a low turnout affair as non-MAGA republicans show no enthusiasm to vote.
I rate this an 75 percent chance.
#1 is done. The Supreme Court ruled against Trump by a 6-3 margin. I called every justice correctly, before Supreme Court oral arguments.
#3 Lisa Cook is separate from this Powell Court smackdown. That’s an easy loss for Trump.
#2 Birthright Citizenship is not even close. Trump will lose his idiotic battle to overturn the Constitution by Executive Order easily. 9-0 against Trump would not surprise me.
So go ahead and appeal, Jeanine Pirro, make an ass out of yourself. Trump demands that, and you volunteered for the torture.
No one qualified for the position would take the job. That’s the only reason Pirro has the job.
Mish, ignore the MAGA commenters afflicted with Trump Worship Syndrome (TWS).
This is a brilliant post and I applaud your bravery to just do the right thing despite the cacophony of naysayers.
Trump going down in flames. I predict an impeachment and removal from office after the midterms.
Impeachment – yes
Removed – almost no chance
“I doubted that my words would have the weight of Greenspan’s, and in any case it seemed to me that Congress is ruled first and foremost by interests and ideology, not by the advice of experts or supposed experts, including the chairman of the Fed.”
― Ben S. Bernanke,
Is not Big Don now beging FED to cut rates? Funny show.
Mish is overconfident on birthright citizenship. Modern jurisprudence is wrong to ignore context from the 19th century on the meaning of “subject to the jurisdiction of”, and this was well-argued before the Court.
it’s a similar constitutional issue to “natural born citizen”, where the modern understanding is sloppy and incorrect.
BHO was a natural-born British subject who was then naturalized as an American citizen at birth. Hawaii law at the time did not allow a minor mother to confer ‘natural-born’ to her children. The father’s status as a British subject (Kenyan) provided the natural-born status of British to BHO.
The whole point of natural-born in 1787 was to exclude British subjects from the presidency. Unfortunately, no one cared in 2007-8 except Trump & Coulter, who were ignored. Trump, characteristically, chose the wrong argument to push, but he was correct in homing in on the issue.
McCain was a natural-born citizen despite being born in the Panama Canal Zone, BHO is not a natural-born citizen despite being born in the U.S. of A. proper.
Ridiculous
If anything the odds are closer to 100% now that we know the Court is willing to stand up to trump
You are talking stupid irrelevant bullshit.
There is nothing in the original constitution about being born in the United States. The year 1787 has nothing to do with this. The phrase you are looking for is this:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Which comes from the 14th amendment to the Constitution passed in 1866. The context was some southern counties and cities were passing laws to restrict gun ownership by freed slaves, as they didn’t like getting shot at when they tried to steal their land. The 14th amendment for the first time made state constitutions subservient to the federal constitution (the end of “state’s rights”) so that state constitutions could no longer override federally given rights. It is why the 2nd amendment applies to you as a citizen today, not just to state militias as it did in the original constitution.
It is the plain language of the Constitution, and there is no evidence that Congress at the time wanted it restricted for any future purpose. We really need to get these liberals, who hate the constitution and America, deported back to El Salvador or wherever they came from, instead of letting them post here.
The no’s just keep coming. Or is it nein, nein, nein!!!
Well the fed is not responsible for the us debt. Our elected officials are.
I hope powell stays on the board after his time on chair is up. Just to piss trump off if nothing more.
.1) The house and senate could pass a bill to nullify the supreme court. Retroactive taxes are not unheard of. If you can do it with credits why not payments. Trump could just give the supeme court the middle finger. I would love to see Nancy make the walk across to the senate chamber.
2) I was born in Japan but does that make me Japanese. NOOO!!! We are the only country that has such weird rules around citizenship.
3) Lisa Cook knowlying lied on a financial application. No crime is commited becasue it is only money. (Sarcasm)
4) The great AI myth. Where are the productivity gains? None.
5) Prices are determined by buyer not sellers. The demand curve still works. More price less quanity.
6) Polls are worthless. Ask anyone about Iowa polls. I think the Republicans need to win is to remind about the criminal neligence of Tim Walz, the gas prices in California under Gavin Newson and the lower the crime rate due to less child and drug trafficing and lower murder rate. Of Coarse, I can already hear racism and they are going to take your Social Security.
$2.5 billlion to renovate the Fed building. $8 per US cititzen $15.50 per taxpayer.
Insider trading was rampant in the FED. Anyone with a 2 year treasury chart could do the Fed’s job. Powell screwed up when he did not follow his 2 year chart. There is a mountain of evidence but who gets punished. The pain is spread to the average citizen, not illegal alien.
OK.
1. You are wrong, the House has too many Republicans who will support the independence of the Fed. Speaker Johnson can only lose one vote, and Massie won’t budge on this.
2. Birthright citizenship is part of the Constitution and there are people here who are citizens in their 50s, 60’s, 70s and older. Not gonna be overturned without a Constitutional amendment.
3. Lisa Cook didn’t lie, the government made a hasty filing full of mistakes. Reuters examined it and you can find the results yourself. Mish is 1000% right.
6. Republicans have lost 28 state-level races in the past year where Dems “flipped the seat” from a Republican seat. Republicans have managed to flip zero. Yeah, Trump always overperforms polling. But with seven months to go, it’s getting very late and Trump is NOT on the ballot.
Jeanine Pirro needs to go back to her box wine and her job on Fox News spewing BS.
She should host “Morning Mimosa” every Sunday.
It’s amazing that some parts of the justice system still follow the rule of law … maybe we are not going to be another Hungary after all.
It is nice to see on occasion, from both sides. Unfortunate it’s more rare than most would like…
The clownshow continues!!!!
At least in this ring of the circus, nobody is getting killed…
The Trump administration got the charges wrong. They should have filed fraud for the fractional reserve system. Mish has explained this one before. Or the fact the Federal Reserve has never avoided recessions since its inception. Don’t forget Powell has refused to bring inflation down.
If incompetence were illegal, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in.
Probably because at least 70% of the overall politicians, would be gone…
I come for Mish’s analysis, but I stay to read the comments! Keep ’em coming guys and gals!
Trump appointed Powell to be Chairman. Of course, he expected Powell to do as Trump says. And now Trump is having a tantrum because Powell won’t do as he is told.
Now he wants to appoint Warsh. Of course, he expects Warsh to do as he says. The question is; will he? And since the Chairman only has one vote on the committee, will he be able to convince everyone else to do as Trump wants.
This court case will delay the appointment of Warsh. Powell will remain as Fed Chair until a successor is appointed.
strong – Papa Challenge
SCO 10.14 Purchase Price – down 16% 8.51
UCO 34.18 Purchase Price – up 18% 40.26
You are winning for now. Goes until 12-31-26
Happy Trading!!! See you next week.
Thanks for posting that.
I believe your original comment was that oil would be closer to $40 than $100 by year end. In other words, you think it will be below $70.
Perhaps Powell might remain as Pro Tem Fed Chair until a successor is appointed. That is true assuming that he does not resign from the Board of Governors when his chairmanship ends on 15 May. He hasn’t stated yet what he will do. Really, how much Trump shit can a man be expected to endure? So maybe he just walks away in May and lets the Vice Chair Philip Jefferson start getting bombarded with the shit?
This was Trump’s plan all along. He got exactly what he wanted. To be bitch slapped.
The Don wanted to be bitch slapped by Bubba in drag, actually.
Winning! Tiger Blood! Trump totally has Adonis DNA.