Trump's legal attack on Powell underscores his aim for full control over Fed

The Department of Justice’s threat to criminally indict Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has set up a tense showdown between the White House and the U.S. central bank, with Powell saying the subpoenas that arrived on Friday are intended to force him to follow President Donald Trump's orders. The subpoenas apply to the cost of renovating Fed buildings, including its marble-clad headquarters in Washington, DC, but they are more fundamentally about the fate of the Fed's independence, how power is distributed within the federal government, and how it will effect the U.S. economy. A pair of Republicans senators have already expressed their unhappiness with the subpoenas and the possibility of the Fed losing its political independence.