Prosecuting Powell Would Be a New Low With No Upside

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It’s come to this. Sunday night brought news that the Federal Reserve was being served grand jury subpoenas threatening a criminal indictment, on the basis that Chairman Jerome Powell allegedly misled Congress last year in testimony on the ongoing refurbishment of the central bank’s buildings. It is a bizarre, dangerous and self-wounding approach that cannot help the US or its monetary system. The Fed’s governance isn’t simple, and its independence in its current form raises many valid issues about democratic accountability. But that doesn’t for a second justify using the Department of Justice and the law to bully the institution or a public servant who is about to leave his job in any case.