The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal has called on President Trump to fire Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
In an editorial titled “Lawfare for Dummies, Monetary Edition,” the Journal identified Pulte as the mastermind behind the scheme to have the Department of Justice launch a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
“Our sources say Bill Pulte of the Federal Housing Finance Agency wrote a report that made its way to Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for Washington, DC,” the editorial stated. “Ms. Pirro’s office sent the subpoena, though Attorney General Pam Bondi no doubt signed off. Presumably the gambit is to catch Mr. Powell for lying to Congress regarding the office renovations or scrounge for details in search of some other so far undetected offense.”
The Journal described Pulte as “an especially eager toady, having led the campaign to unseat Fed Governor Lisa Cook on unproven allegations of mortgage fraud, in hopes of stacking the board with more accommodating members.” The editorial also warned the effort to bring an indictment against Powell would backfire on the administration.
“Mr. Trump needs to call time on this self-defeating scheme, with a message to Ms. Bondi to halt the legal harassment. Firing Mr. Pulte before he can cause any more embarrassment would also help,” the editorial concluded.
Ducking Blame
Pulte, who has advocated for Powell’s removal since joining the administration, claimed he was not involved in the effort to indict Powell. However, Pulte has a documented history of not telling the truth to the public. Last summer, Pulte falsely claimed Powell was considering resignation from his position and falsely insisted the Fed hired an outside crisis communications agency. He also promised to hold a press event to unveil evidence proving his allegations of mortgage fraud against Cook but canceled the event at the last minute and never publicly revealed his supposed evidence.
Separately, Pirro tried to spin the story to insist Powell made up the threat of an indictment.
“The United States Attorney’s Office contacted the Federal Reserve on multiple occasions to discuss cost overruns and the chairman’s congressional testimony, but were ignored, necessitating the use of legal process—which is not a threat,” Pirro said in a X post. “The word ‘indictment’ has come out of Mr. Powell’s mouth, no one else’s. None of this would have happened if they had just responded to our outreach. This office makes decisions based on the merits, nothing more and nothing less. We agree with the chairman of the Federal Reserve that no one is above the law, and that is why we expect his full cooperation.”
Global Response
The fallout over the Trump administration’s threat of indictments against Powell became an international story as the central banks of some of the world’s leading economies joined together to condemn the administration’s actions.
A statement published under the letterhead of the European Central Bank (ECB) declared, “We stand in full solidarity with the Federal Reserve Systems and its Chair Jerome H. Powell. The independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of the citizens that we serve. It is therefore critical to preserve that independence, with full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability.”
The statement added, “Chair Powell has served with integrity, judgement and an unwavering commitment to the public interest. To us, he is a respected colleague who is held in the highest regard by all who have worked with him.”
Joining the ECB in its support of Powell were the governors of the central banks of the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, South Korea, and Brazil. Two executives from the Bank for International Settlements also joined the defense of Powell.
