From PBS NewsHour.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell called the Justice Department’s criminal probe into the central bank "unprecedented," saying it’s an excuse to undermine its political independence.

"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," Powell said in a video on Sunday. "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."

The DOJ opened a criminal investigation and served the Fed with subpoenas over Powell’s testimony last year before the Senate Banking Committee about the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation project.

President Donald Trump, who said Sunday he didn’t know anything about the probe, has repeatedly attacked Powell for not cutting interest rates quickly enough.

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