Hi there, everyone. Happy Monday. It's 4 o'clock in New York. Message to all the titans of industry,

the tech bros and finance folks who fly private and think Donald Trump's unrestained fetish

with retribution and revenge doesn't impact you, won't impact you over the next three years.

Unfortunately, I fear you're about to be proven very wrong as he gins up a politically motivated

criminal probe into Jerome Powell that former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says puts the

United States of America on a path toward a banana republic. Breaking over the weekend, news that the Trump

Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

over whether Powell lied to Congress about the scope of the renovations of the Fed's headquarters.

It comes after nearly a year of Powell standing up to Donald Trump and asserting his independence and that of the

Federal Reserve amid an all-out pressure campaign by Donald Trump to get Powell to cut interest rates,

even if doing so could be devastating for the U.S. economy. Powell posted a video on the website of

the Board of the Governors of the Federal Reserve calling out the Trump administration.

Watch.

This unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats

and ongoing pressure.

This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal

Reserve buildings.

It is not about Congress's oversight role. The Fed, through testimony and other public disclosures, made every

effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts. 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.

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. I have served at the Federal Reserve under four administrations,

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