Fed Chair Defies Trump as Prosecution Backfires

0:00Popok:FanDuel is dropping bonus bets into everyone's account for the tournament. All you have to do is opt in to claim your bonus. But don't wait. These bonus bets are only available for a limited time. FanDuel. Play your game. 21 plus and present in select states. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets which expire 7 days after receipt. Max bonus$500 unless otherwise specified. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. My name is Mackenzie and I started a GoFundMe for the adoptive mother of a nonverbal autistic child. The mother had lost her job because she wasn't able to find adequate care for this autistic child.

0:44So she really needed some help with living expenses, paying some back bills. So I launched a GoFundMe to help support them during this crisis. And we raised about$10 ,000 within just a couple of months. I think that the surprising thing was by telling a clear story and just like really being very clear about what we needed. We had some really generous donations from people who were really moved by the situation that this family was struggling with. GoFundMe is the world's number one fundraising platform trusted by over 200 million people. Start your GoFundMe today at GoFundMe.com. That's GoFundMe.com.

1:26GoFundMe.com. This podcast is supported by GoFundMe. Whether you're solving murders during breakfast, cracking cold cases on your commute, or playing amateur detective at bedtime, Amazon Music's got millions of podcast episodes waiting. Just download the Amazon Music app and start listening to your favorite true crime podcasts ad-free, included with Prime.

1:48Popok:After 16 months of bashing the Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell, All it's done is strengthen his resolve. And in a press conference yesterday to announce no change in interest rates to bail out Trump's failed economy, Jay Powell went one step further. He told Donald Trump not only is he not leaving in May of 2026 when his Federal Reserve chairmanship is over, but that he will stay in that position as the chairperson pro tempore if Donald Trump's picked to replace him is not confirmed by the Senate. And it's not looking good between now and May the 15th for Kevin Warsh to be confirmed by the Senate because Donald Trump has opened up a criminal investigation against Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve led by Jeanine Pirro, his political ally in the U.S.

2:43Popok:Attorney's Office in D.C. She's not letting up. That's making Jay Powell get his Irish up, as they like, as Joe Biden liked to say, and says he's not going anywhere until the investigation is completely over and he's effectively been cleared. Therefore, Tom Tillis in the Senate, who's leaving the Senate but has a vote on the Senate Banking Committee, he says he won't vote for Donald Trump's replacement as chair of the Federal Reserve in Kevin Warsh unless the Federal Reserve chairman is cleared of his criminal investigation. Oh, what a tangled web Donald Trump has woven. You're here on the Midas Touch Network and Legal AF.

3:25Popok:I'm Michael Popok. Let's get to the new reporting in the last 24 hours. We knew that the Federal Reserve was going to be meeting yesterday and making their decision about whether interest rates were going to be cut or not. Donald Trump wants them cut because that's cheap money. That helps bail out his failed economic policies by making money really cheap, and therefore people invest with really cheap money, except it leads to hyperinflation. The Federal Reserve makes the decision about ratings and rates based on what's called the Federal Open Markets Committee. It's comprised of 12 people, seven members of the Board of Governors, of which Jay Powell is the chair, and five rotating members who are presidents of the regional Federal Reserve banks.

4:15Popok:And out of that 12 people, you know how many people wanted to cut interest rates? One. Even two Trumpers, Waller and Bowman, said, we're not cutting rates. So there goes rate cuts. And the market has reacted. In fact, the market doesn't think there's going to be a rate cut again in 2026. And there may be a rate increase in 2027. So take that. But in that same press conference, a defiant Jay Powell, somebody I've never seen before. The fact that I'm putting defiant and Jay Powell in the same sentence is amazing. He is a very calm, quiet, moderate person, genius when it comes to economic policy.

4:58Popok:But he took to the podium. And he had this to say, fighting back against Donald Trump. Play the clip. What happens if there's no Federal Reserve chairman confirmed on May 15th? Would you stay on? So if my successor is not confirmed by the end of my term as chair, I would serve as chair pro tem until he is confirmed. That is what the law calls for. That's what we've done on several occasions, including involving me. And it's what we're going to do in this situation. And while I'm at it, on the question whether I will leave while the investigation is ongoing, I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality.

5:41And I would refer you to the statement that was in the Fed's brief that you all have seen. And I won't have anything more for you on that. On the question of whether I will then continue to serve as a governor after my term ends and after the investigation is over, I have not made that decision yet. And I will make that decision based on what I think is best for the institution and for the people we serve.

6:02Popok:Now, that's not the first time we've seen Jay Powell say that I'm not going anywhere, that I've got to be well, that the investigation has to be well and truly over, that it has to be concluded with full transparency. In other words, bring it. What is the whole criminal investigation about? Well, the Federal Reserve is remodeling two out of its four buildings that make up the Federal Reserve compound in Washington. They haven't been remodeled in 100 years since they were built. You're talking about asbestos. You're talking about old elevators, old wiring, old HVACs, you know, heating and air conditioning.

6:40Popok:And there's some cost overruns. I mean, after COVID, the supply chain for construction materials has gone through the roof. Donald Trump knows that, right? He doubled the price of his own ballroom. But they decided to open up a criminal investigation of Jay Powell related to the cost overruns as if he's lining his own pockets with money. You saw Jay Powell. He's lining his own pockets with money from the construction overruns. That's the crime. That's so ludicrous that Jeb Boesburg, chief judge of all grand jury proceedings in the federal court in D.C. just dismissed the subpoenas. The grand jury subpoenas were quashed by Jeb Bozberg, who declared there is no criminal case of any merit at all, no evidence whatsoever to justify the prosecutors going after Jay Powell.

7:29Popok:In other words, it's a bad faith prosecution. And of course, that led to Janine Pirro basically getting all angry on behalf of Donald Trump and saying she's going to appeal and she's going to go after Jay Powell. And somebody asked her, well, what do you think that means for the confirmation of Jay Powell's successor, Kevin Warsh? How are you going to get that guy confirmed to replace if you're still running your criminal investigation? Play the clip. Jerome Powell today is now bathed in immunity, preventing my office from investigating the Federal Reserve. This is wrong, and it is without legal authority.

8:13And so this decision today by Judge Boesberg runs directly afoul of our highest court's admonition that courts and judges must not and cannot saddle grand juries with many trials and preliminary showings that impede a prosecutor's investigation and thus frustrate the public's interest in the fair and expeditious administration of justice. No one, folks, is above the law. And this outrageous decision will be appealed by the United States Department of Justice.

9:01Popok:Donald Trump miscalculated. We start a lot of hot takes videos with Donald Trump miscalculated, whether it's Iran. You know, we just had reporting today that Iran took out 17 percent of our ally, Qatar, and its natural gas pipeline. It's going to be three to five years before they get that back online. So 17 % of natural gas just sort of disappeared in terms of volume, meaning the prices of natural gas are going to go way up over the next three to five years, which are going to impact you and me in our pocketbook. Miscalculation, miscalculation about the Strait of Hormuz and how much oil could move through once Iran decided to shut it down.

9:39Popok:and miscalculations about Jay Powell. They thought they were going to embarrass their way into having Jay Powell resign before May 15th of 2026, just in about a month and a half, which is when his chairmanship is over, and then embarrass him to resign from the entire Federal Reserve Board in 2028. But all you have to do is watch Jay Powell school Donald Trump about the cost overrun and turned the tables on him when Trump tried to embarrass him in real time in a press conference to know that Jay Powell wasn't going anywhere. Play the clip. It looks like it's about 3.1 billion. It went up a little bit or a lot.

10:21So the 2.7 is now 3.1. I'm not aware of that. Yeah, it just came out. Yeah, I haven't heard that from anybody. Yeah, it just came out.

10:35I know it's at about 3.1 as well. 3.1. 3.2. This came from us? Yes. I don't know who does that. You're including the Martin renovation. You just added in a third building is what that is. That's a third building. Well, I know, but it's a building that's being built. No, it was built five years ago. We finished Martin five years ago. It's part of the overall work. It's not new. So we're going to take a look. we're going to see what's happening uh and it's got a long way do you expect any more additional crossover ones don't expect them uh we're we're ready for them but we we have a little bit of a reserve that we may use but no we don't expect to be finished in 2027 um we're well along as you can see uh nice to take these off every once in a while when we're not under too much danger.

11:29Popok:That's the guy they've been effing with. That's the guy they thought more mean tweets is going to make him resign. Really? Now, why is there this fight? Let's do a teachable moment now about the Federal Reserve. It's comprised of seven members. As currently constituted, four of those members were appointed by non-Trump people, Biden, Obama, and the like. The four non-Trumpers, which are the majority of the Federal Reserve, are Powell, his term expires in 2028, chairmanship in 2026, but his full term in 2028, Jefferson in 2036, a second one in 2032, and Cook in 2038. Not going anywhere. The three Trumpers, Waller, his term expires in 2030, Bowman in 2034.

12:24Popok:And then the third one, which is expiring now, should be Kevin Warsh. And that one has to be replaced. Now, the reason why the majority control of that board is so important is because the majority picks who are the other members of the Federal Open Markets Committee, which meets monthly, quarterly, to talk about interest rates. That's a 12-member committee. Seven of them are the Board of Governors I just described. Five come from the Federal Reserve's regional banks and their presidencies. That's picked by the majority on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. So if you get control, which Donald Trump wants to do, if Jay Powell were to say, I've had it, I throw in the towel, Donald Trump gets the majority of the Board of Governors.

13:12He wipes out and picks five new members from the presidents.

13:19Popok:He fires all the regional presidents. And now he's got control of the Federal Open Markets Committee. So it's not just about one vote. If he gets one vote on the board of governors, he really picks up the majority over on the Open Markets Committee to set interest rates. And that's what he wants. So that's what we're watching. So the fact that Jay Powell has decided he needs to stand and fight until the very end, the bitter end, and he's not going anywhere. And then I love the extra little twist, which is, hey, if you can't get your guy confirmed for the chairmanship, Kevin Warsh, I'm happy to stay on as the chair until you do.

14:01Popok:That's happened three or four times in our history during confirmation processes. So we're going to continue to follow it all. You're on the Midas Touch Network, your independent channel of choice. Legal AF YouTube needs your support and love as well. Come over there. Hit the free subscribe button. So until my next report, I'm Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal AF? Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the Substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do call, wait for it, Morning AF.

14:39Popok:What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well. We got some new reporting. We got interviews. We got ad-free versions of the podcast and hot takes. Wear legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe.

15:14We know you're tired of numbers, but here's a big one you need to hear. Billions. That's the amount of money and refunds the IRS has flagged for possible identity fraud. Now here's another big number. 100 million. That's how many data points LifeLock monitors every second. If your identity is stolen, we'll fix it guaranteed. One last big number. Save up to 40 % your first year. Visit LifeLock.com slash podcast for the threats you can't control. Terms apply. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile, with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop.

15:50With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just$15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for a three-month plan, equivalent to$15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. Cefal terms at mintmobile.com. Are you noticing your car insurance rate creep up even without tickets or claims? You're not alone. That's why there's Jerry, your proactive insurance assistant. Jerry handles the legwork by comparing quotes side by side from over 50 top insurers so you can confidently hit buy.

16:29No spam calls, no hidden fees. Jerry even tracks rates and alerts you when it's best to shop. Drivers who save with Jerry could save over$1 ,300 a year. Don't settle for higher rates. Download the Jerry app or visit jerry.ai slash libsyn today. That's j-e-r-r-y dot a-i slash l-i-b-s-y-n. Hey, y 'all. It's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair, where delivery and setup are as easy as a few taps on your phone. Picture this. You're relaxing in an old hammock, scrolling Wayfair's app when you spot it. A brand new patio set. Next thing you know, Wayfair delivers it right to your patio and sets it up. Oh, you need a new grill, too?

17:08All right, Wayfair's got you covered. With Wayfair's room of choice delivery and fast experts set up on qualifying orders, life gets a little easier. Visit Wayfair.com or the Wayfair app. Wayfair, every style, every home.