WASHINGTON, D.C.- The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia has opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Former criminal prosecutor and member of the House Committee on Financial Services, Congressman Sam Liccardo (CA-16), released the following statement:

"This investigation represents a deeply troubling pattern of abuse of prosecutorial power for political intimidation. Republicans and Democrats on my own Financial Services Committee--including GOP Chairman French Hill-agree that this Administration should focus on reducing the skyrocketing cost of living, not undermining the independence of the economic experts responsible for monetary policy.

"There is an effective, non-political process for rooting out waste and fraud: an independent Inspector General investigates, reports its findings, and seeks civil and criminal sanctions. Of course, this Administration came into office last year and immediately fired an unprecedented 17 inspectors general, to avoid revealing the corruption and chaos of this Administration.

"This Department of Justice hides inculpatory evidence from the Epstein files, prosecutes political opponents of the President's, and fires respected career prosecutors willing to enforce the law against criminal activity by Trump and his allies. The Department of Justice has fallen a long way from when I served as a DOJ prosecutor, and from the days when two Republican Attorneys General resigned to protect the Department's independence during Watergate. In order to maintain the independence of our justice system, Attorney General Pam Bondi must resign her office."