The Daily Populous Monday January 12nd, 2026 evening edition
Authored by commondreams.org and submitted by ChaskaChanhassen

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell revealed in a defiant statement late Sunday that the US Department of Justice is threatening him with criminal charges, a step the central bank chief condemned as "intimidation" for not bowing to President Donald Trump's demands on interest rate policy.

"I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law," Powell said in a video statement. "But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure."

Powell said that the Justice Department, which Trump has repeatedly wielded against his political opponents, served the Federal Reserve on Friday with grand jury subpoenas related to the central bank chair's congressional testimony on Fed office building renovations.

But Powell, who was first nominated to his role by Trump in 2017, said accusations that he misled lawmakers about the scope of the renovations were a "pretext" obscuring the real reason the Justice Department is pursuing a criminal indictment.

"The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president," said Powell. "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation."

Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell: https://t.co/5dfrkByGyX pic.twitter.com/O4ecNaYaGH

— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve) January 12, 2026

The New York Times reported Sunday that the investigation into Powell was approved late last year by Trump loyalist Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host now serving as US attorney for the District of Columbia. Trump claimed he didn't "know anything about" the Powell investigation, but added, "He's certainly not very good at the Fed, and he's not very good at building buildings."

Powell, whose term as Fed chair ends in May, has repeatedly defied Trump in public, dismissing the president's threat to remove him from the helm of the central bank as unlawful and, at one point, fact-checking Trump to his face about the estimated cost of Fed renovations.

Powell has also publicly blamed Trump's tariff policies for driving up inflation.

"It's really tariffs that are causing the most of the inflation overshoot," Powell said last month, following the central bank's December 10 meeting. The Fed cut interest rates three times last year, bringing them down by a total of 75 basis points.

But Trump has pushed for much more aggressive rate cuts and attacked Powell—who does not have sole authority over interest rate decisions—as a "moron" and "truly one of my worst appointments."

Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the watchdog group Public Citizen, applauded Powell's "bold defense of the rule of law" and said that Fed policy "should not be subject to intimidation and bullying by Trump loyalist prosecutors."

"The Department of Justice should serve the rule of law, not the vindictive instincts of an authoritarian president," said Gilbert. "And it should never misuse its criminal enforcement powers to pursue pretextual prosecutions against the president’s political opponents or those who show a modicum of independence.”

"He is abusing the law like a wannabe dictator so the Fed serves him and his billionaire friends."

Democratic members of Congress also rose to Powell's defense.

"Threatening criminal action against a Fed chair because he refuses to do the president's bidding on interest rates undermines the rule of law, which is the very foundation for American prosperity," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) wrote on social media.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) added that "no one should lose their sense of outrage about what is happening to our country."

"This is an effort to create an autocratic state. It's that plain," said Murphy. "Trump is threatening to imprison the chairman of Federal Reserve simply because he won't enact the rate policy Trump wants."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a frequent critic of Powell and Fed rate policy during his tenure, wrote late Sunday that Trump "wants to nominate a new Fed chair AND push Powell off the board for good to complete his corrupt takeover of our central bank."

Powell's term as a Fed governor runs through January 2028. Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, is widely seen as the president's likely pick to replace Powell as chair of the central bank.

Warren called on the Senate to "not move ANY Trump Fed nominee" amid the DOJ investigation into Powell.

"He is abusing the law like a wannabe dictator so the Fed serves him and his billionaire friends," Warren said of Trump.

Expensive_Medium106 on January 12nd, 2026 at 13:29 UTC »

YEAR ONE - US Taxpayer Pays:

$858 Million in ICE signing bonuses, $170 Billion to Stephen Miller Immigration enforcement, $40 billion to Argentinian Farmers, $110 Million for Trump golf, $30 million for Trump birthday parade, and

$40 Million for JD Vance 8 vacations, $200 Million for Kristi Noem private jets, $62 Million plane with security detail used for Kash Patel girlfriend visits, $100 Billion to Venezuela, $135 Billion in Musk DOGE costs (including Musk getting all your personal info), $500 Billion additional to military, and

$200 Billion reimbursement to oil companies for repairing Venezuelan infrastructure, $2.5 Billion contract to Palantair Technologies whose tech is used for mass surveillance on US citizens. Plus $2,100 more in taxes paid per year per household for trump tariffs.

Trumps personal wealth increased $3 Billion in this one year. In one year Trump added $1.7 Trillion to federal deficit. He placed unqualified masked men on the street asking to see your papers.

Small US business importers have paid about $25,000 more per month because of Trump tariffs. Trumps shut down of USAID has led to 600 thousand deaths worldwide with an estimated 14 million deaths possible through 2030.

Trump implemented funding cuts for environmental science, scientific research, the EPA, medicine, healthcare, the postal service, National Parks, public broadcasting and education.

Hedge fund manager Paul Singer gave $15 Million to Trumps PAC’s and $37 Million to republicans running for congress, he purchased Venezuelan oil company Citgo Oil for cheap in a well-timed transaction - 2 months before the illegal US invasion of Venezuela. He is expected to make billions.

Dwayla on January 12nd, 2026 at 12:11 UTC »

Let's go Jerome Powell, one of the few with a spine.

Splatgal on January 12nd, 2026 at 12:11 UTC »

Trump literally demolished the east wing to put up a gaudy ballroom that will be bigger than the actual White House without any approval from any agency whatsoever - why is he not being condemned for this??