Trump Surrenders on Biggest Criminal Case...

0:00This is a Monday.com ad. TheSameMonday.com designed for every team. TheSameMonday.com with built-in AI, scaling your work from day one. TheSameMonday.com with an easy and intuitive setup. Go to Monday.com and try it for free. A text says, you're on my mind. A bouquet from 1-800-Flowers says, you're my everything. Heartfelt moments belong in the real world, not just your phone. For 50 years, 1-800-Flowers has helped millions of people make memories that'll last a lifetime with gifts they'll cherish forever. Their expertly curated arrangements and gift baskets ship nationwide with a 100 % satisfaction guarantee.

0:36Don't wait for the next big moment. Make it when you visit 1-800-Flowers.com slash podcast. That's 1-800-Flowers.com slash podcast. Hey, Chicagoland. Wayfair's big sale is coming to the Wayfair store. It's Wayday, and it's almost here. Starting April 25th, you can score huge deals on everything home, in person, like up to 60 % off mattresses, up to 40 % off appliances, and up to 60 % off home reno. Plus, you can take home the small stuff that day and get the big stuff shipped fast and free. Shop Wayday from April 25th through 27th at the Wayfair store at Edens Plaza in Wilmette. Way fair, every style, every home.

1:15Michael Popok:We got some breaking but curious news concerning the Federal Reserve. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Janine Pirro, has just announced that she has dropped the criminal investigation against the Federal Reserve and its chair, Jay Powell, related to construction cost overruns for the remodeling of two 100-year-old buildings that make up the Federal Reserve compound. However, she is hedging her bets and has said that if the inspector general, who is the independent auditing entity looking into construction overruns, finds that there's any criminal facts or facts to support criminal charges, she suggested that she won't hesitate to reopen the criminal investigation.

2:02Michael Popok:Why I say this is curious is that Republican Tom Tillis, senator from North Carolina, has made it clear and he sits on the banking committee that the Trump administration will not get his vote. Therefore, he will block the confirmation of Kevin Warsh to be the new Federal Reserve chair when Jay Powell's term expires on May 15th. But this is not just a fight over the May 15th term, because that's going to be upon us any day now. It's about Donald Trump continuing to try to apply pressure on Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve Chair, to step off of his seat on the Board of Governors, which doesn't expire until 2028, because he wants to get control of the majority of the board.

2:48Michael Popok:once he has majority control, then he has control of the Federal Open Markets Committee, which sets interest rates. That's what this is all about. And I'm gonna read to you a few things, including Jeanine Pirro's social media posting today, which I guess the Trump administration hopes is enough to placate Tom Tillis. I just don't think it does. We'll watch this fast-moving story play out here on Midas Touch and on Legal AF YouTube channel. Take a minute to subscribe to both. All right, how did we get here? Donald Trump has been bashing Jay Powell for the entirety of his 16, 17 month term because he wants to get control of the Federal Reserve and its interest rates.

3:29Michael Popok:We don't want that to happen generally because that will lead to hyperinflation as Donald Trump gives out cheap money to try to restart the heart of an economy that he killed. So he first went after Lisa Cook on the Board of Governors claiming that she committed mortgage fraud. That went all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. We're waiting on the ruling, but it is unlikely that Lisa Cook is going to be fired from her board of governors job, which runs until 2038, which now we now turn to Jay Powell. Donald Trump then said, oh, there's a billion dollar construction overrun in related to the Federal Reserve 200 year old buildings.

4:06Michael Popok:By the way, asbestos remediation alone is into the tens of millions of dollars. There must be a crime being committed. In fact, Donald Trump even said on Tuesday, I don't think I don't think that Jay Powell put money in his pocket from the construction site. But I don't I don't really know. I mean, that's that's you know, that's like the old are you still that's like the old ridiculous line. Are you still beating your wife? Oh, question withdrawn, you know, just to try to throw shade on Jay Powell. So now we've got Tom Tillis drawing the line in the sand. In fact, he said it during the Senate confirmation hearing that just took place for Kevin Warsh, where he asked him no questions, but made it clear that he won't have his vote to confirm unless the Trump DOJ drops its case against Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell and the rest.

5:03Michael Popok:In fact, Tillis even gives Trump a way out of the corner he painted him into, saying, oh, it's probably not you, Trump. It's probably, you know, Jeanine Pirro or the U.S. attorney or an assistant U.S. attorney. So why don't you kill the prosecution? Play the clip of Tom Tillis. The problem that I have here is that we had some U.S. attorney with a dream or assistant U.S. attorney thinking it would be cute to bring Chair Powell under an investigation just a few months before the position was going to be open. This happened this year. Normal course and speed. Here's how it works at the Fed. March, May the 15th, the term would have expired.

5:45We'd be having this hearing. You'd be getting confirmed. Custom also suggests that the sitting chair, even though he has two years left on his term would have exited. But instead, we have somebody who thinks a building project that went over by about$700 million with a lot of what seemed to be justifications for it are holding up this whole process. It sounds like to me, somebody over in the DOJ didn't even check with the boss. The boss said on the same night that I said, I can't go forward until this bogus investigation is done. We've said he didn't know anything about it. So we've got people in DOJ over in the D.C.

6:24circuit or the D.C. district doing these investigations. We have got to end this investigation. Big DOJ didn't know about it. The president didn't know about it. Let's get rid of this investigation so I can support your confirmation.

6:37Michael Popok:Now, here's that's what he said. But this is the problem that here's the problem that Piro, here's the Piro problem, because I'm not sure this satisfies the Tom Tillis requirement. Let me read it to you verbatim. We'll put it up on the screen. This morning, the inspector general for the Federal Reserve has been asked to scrutinize the building cost overruns and billions of dollars that have been borne by taxpayers. The IG, the inspector general, has the authority to hold the Federal Reserve accountable. I expect a comprehensive report in short order, and I'm confident the outcome will assist in resolving once and for all the questions that led this office to issue subpoenas.

7:17Michael Popok:No, you issue subpoenas when you think there's probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. Accordingly, I've directed my office to close our investigation as the IG undertakes this inquiry. Note well, however, that I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so. I don't think that satisfies the Tillis requirement, to be frank, at all. I think holding this axe over the head of Jay Powell through 2028 is not going to do it. And Jay Powell has been very public that he's not going anywhere during the course of this investigation. And he's sitting in his chair until 2028.

7:59Michael Popok:My cat Chanel, she runs the house. I just pay the mortgage and scoop litter. So when I found something that fixes that worst part of having a cat, I paid attention. This podcast is sponsored by Boxy. Boxy is the last cat litter you'll switch to. And their Boxy Pro Deep Clean, it's the best cat litter money can buy. The Pro in Boxy Pro stands for probiotics, which Boxy puts right in the litter that gobble up odor-causing bacteria and keeps the box continuously odor-free. Yes, continuously, not for 10 days or 20 days, infinite days of continual odor-freeness. and your cat won't smell anything either.

8:38Michael Popok:As in no fake scents, which gives him or her one less reason to avoid the box. I've used Boxy Pro Deep Clean recently and I can actually vouch that this works. Our place smells better. Scooping is easier and Chanel took to it right away. Plus with Boxy, you do not need to do full litter changes. You just scoop, top it off with fresh Boxy litter and that's it. If you're tired of switching litters, looking for the one, Get 30 % off your Boxy order at BoxyCat.com backslash Legal AF and use code Legal AF. That's B-O-X-I-E-C-A-T.com slash Legal AF. And make sure you use my code Legal AF so they know I sent you.

9:20Michael Popok:The ironic thing is if Donald Trump had just left him alone and not attacked him, he probably just would have taken his ball and gone home when his chairmanship term was over on May 15th. But because of the bashing, because he obviously cares about the independence of the Federal Reserve and doesn't want Donald Trump undermining it, he's not going to give Donald Trump that seat on the Federal Reserve to let him get control of interest rates. Here's Jay Powell telling you exactly that. Play the clip. 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.

9:57That 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. And 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.

10:33And I will make that decision based on what I think is best for the institution and for the people we serve. Figuring you probably were going to set the dominoes off there. And I'm not going to have any more to say on those issues, by the way.

10:48Michael Popok:Now, the criminal investigation that she says she just, Jeanine Pirro said she just closed, which is in line with a growing number of indictments and prosecutions that her office cannot obtain. Remember, she's the same office that went after six members of Congress, including two senators, because they did a 90-minute, sorry, 90-second informational video encouraging the troops not to follow illegal unconstitutional orders, like a public service announcement against unconstitutional orders. She wasn't able to get an indictment from a grand jury then. And in this one, back in March, March 13th, chief judge of the federal court in the District of Columbia, Boesberg, issued a 27-page decision in which he granted the motion for the Federal Reserve, quashed the subpoenas that were being issued by the grand jury by Janine Pirro's office, finding that the predominant reason for the criminal investigation to be opened at all was not because there was a belief that there was really a crime committed.

11:54Michael Popok:No, it was instead to harass Jay Powell and therefore was an illegal on a bad faith purpose. And he killed the prosecution. In fact, he had a the number two in that office that worked for Janine Pirro behind closed doors, it's reported that he admitted that there were no facts to support a criminal case against Jay Powell or the Federal Reserve. And when the judge says, well, how are you bringing in this case in these subpoenas. He says, well, it's a$1.2 billion cost overrun. That may be, there's 1.2 billion reasons that there might be crimes committed. He's like, no, that's not how that happens.

12:33Michael Popok:Let me read to you from the memorandum opinion here, just to remind you of what Donald Trump should have just done, which is take the loss, take the knee after Boesburg killed the criminal prosecution. He didn't need Jeanine Pirro two months later announcing she was closing it, but not really closing it. Here's what Jeb Boesberg said about the case. He started this way. Jerome Too Late Powell has done it again. He's too late and actually too angry, too stupid, and too political to have the job of Fed chair. He's costing our country trillions of dollars. Put another way, too late as a total loser, and our country is paying the price.

13:08Michael Popok:That is one of at least 100 statements that the president or his deputies have made attacking the chair of the Federal Reserve and pressuring him to lower interest rates. Remember, this is a memorandum opinion about a criminal investigation. Page two, perhaps it has come as no surprise that then that the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office has recently opened a criminal investigation into Powell. It has served two subpoenas on the Federal Reserve and the Board of Governors about recent renovations. The case thus asks, did prosecutors issue those subpoenas for a proper purpose or to get rid of him at the president's demand.

13:44Michael Popok:The court finds they did not. There is an abundant evidence that the subpoena's dominant, if not sole purpose, is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the president or to resign and make way for a Fed chair who will. On the other side of the scale, the government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime. The court must thus conclude that the asserted justifications for these subpoenas are mere pretexts. That killed the case right there. And if you want to know more about the Federal Reserve and its renovations, just go on the FAQ section for the Federal Reserve, and it'll answer all the questions about the size and scale and scope of the renovation, why it's costing so much.

14:23Michael Popok:And if you want, you'll see videos of water pouring into the basement of the Federal Reserve. These are 100-year-old buildings. I've been involved with the renovation of old buildings and litigation over them. Just the asbestos remediation, just the wiring, the electrical, the plumbing, the elevators that all have to be replaced in a 100-year-old building. No wonder, post-COVID, the way Donald Trump treated the economy, that the cost has doubled. The cost has doubled on every construction project in Washington. The Department of Homeland Security is double its project and they've been building it since 2016 and it's not done.

15:03Michael Popok:Is that a crime? So I'm okay if Jeanine Pirro wants to go after why is there a double cost overruns for the ballroom Donald Trump's building or the Department of Homeland Security or any other building, but to target the one place that Donald Trump wants to make a major change on interest rates? I don't think so. No one does. I'm glad you're here on Legal AF and on Midas Touch. Take a moment, hit the free subscribe button in both places Until my next report, this is Michael.

15:57Michael Popok:And hot takes where legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe. Craving the coffee flavor you love, but without the caffeine? Cachava's got you covered with their newest coffee flavor. This all-in-one nutrition shake delivers bold, authentic flavor crafted from premium decaffeinated Brazilian beans. Quality nutrition shouldn't be complicated. Just two scoops of cachava's all-in-one nutrition shake, and you've got 25 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, greens, and so much more. Whether you're craving that coffee taste to kickstart your morning ritual, or as a nutrient-packed reward to round out your afternoon, cachava keeps you fueled and satisfied wherever your day takes you.

16:41Plus, it actually tastes delicious. No fillers, no nonsense. Just the good stuff your body craves. And for the times you feel like switching it up, you've got seven flavors to choose from. all with the highest quality ingredients. Treat yourself to the flavor and nutrition your body craves. Go to cachava.com and use code NEWS. New customers get 15 % off their first order. That's K-A-C-H-A-V-A dot com code NEWS. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for$15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities.

17:17So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at MintMobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for 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. Default terms at MintMobile.com.