Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell goes on the record saying the Trump administration is threatening him via fabricated charges pushed through the DOJ.

The head of the Federal Reserve released a message Sunday night that basically says the Trump administration is blackmailing him into changing how he handles national interest rates. This is insane. The Fed's independence is incredibly important and it must have escalated significantly for the chair to get to this point where he's releasing a statement.

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.