The Campaign for Accountability (CfA), a nonpartisan watchdog group, has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The group alleges the FHFA failed to comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that sought access to a report prepared by FHFA Director Bill Pulte about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
CfA submitted the FOIA request on Jan. 22, seeking documents that could “shed light on FHFA Administrator Pulte’s efforts to assist President Trump in finding a way to remove Jerome Powell from his position as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States.” The FHFA declined to comment when reached by HousingWire.
In the lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, CfA argues that FHFA failed to respond to its request for expedited processing within FOIA’s statutory deadline. The group contends that the agency’s lack of response entitles it to judicial relief and is asking the court to order FHFA to promptly produce all responsive records.
According to the complaint, Pulte prepared a report related to Powell’s role in the $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and sent it to Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. CfA alleges that FHFA has no apparent jurisdiction or role in matters involving the Fed.
On Jan. 9, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia served the Fed with subpoenas related to Powell’s management of — and testimony to Congress about — the renovation project.
“Bill Pulte and the FHFA do not have jurisdiction over the Fed or its Chairman, so the public has a right to know how Pulte abused his position to push the president’s vendetta,” CfA executive director Michelle Kuppersmith said in a statement. “Since the FHFA has neither provided the memo nor explained why it has not, CfA is asking the court to compel the agency to produce it.”
Powell said in a video posted to the Fed’s website in early January that the Department of Justice had threatened criminal charges related to his congressional testimony last summer. He characterized the investigation as politically motivated.
“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,” Powell said.
“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.”
The subpoenas are the latest move in the Trump administration’s campaign to get Powell to lower interest rates, resign or be fired.
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