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Firing of Fed Reserve chief ‘highly unlikely', says Trump

Firing of Fed Reserve chief ‘highly unlikely', says Trump

BreakingNews.ie7 days ago
President Donald Trump has said it is 'highly unlikely' he will fire Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell 'unless he has to leave for fraud'.
The statement came less than 24 hours after Mr Trump indicated in a private meeting that he is leaning in favour of dismissing the head of the US central bank.
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Mr Trump confirmed that he discussed the 'concept' of dismissing Mr Powell in a meeting with about a dozen Republicans, who had gathered at the White House on Tuesday to discuss crypto legislation in the House of Representatives.
Jerome Powell leads the US central bank (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
'Almost every one of them said I should,' Mr Trump said on Wednesday during an Oval Office meeting.
US stocks were shaky after the news broke, as such a move could help Wall Street get the lower interest rates that it loves but would also risk a weakened Fed unable to make the unpopular moves needed to keep inflation under control.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson stopped short of calling for Mr Powell to be fired, saying he was not certain about the 'executive authority' involved.
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But he did say 'new leadership would be helpful at the Fed'.
'I've been unhappy with the leadership there personally,' Mr Johnson told reporters on Wednesday.
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Current Toyota RAV4 Prices Will Make You Think Twice
Current Toyota RAV4 Prices Will Make You Think Twice

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time16 minutes ago

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Current Toyota RAV4 Prices Will Make You Think Twice

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Tulsi Gabbard says ‘further documents' to be released today proving ‘Obama coup'
Tulsi Gabbard says ‘further documents' to be released today proving ‘Obama coup'

The Independent

time17 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Tulsi Gabbard says ‘further documents' to be released today proving ‘Obama coup'

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On Tuesday's instalment of MSNBC's Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough presented a 14-point 'laundry list' of subjects raised in the last two weeks to distract from the Epstein case, with the Obama conspiracy appearing alongside such issues as expat comedian Rosie O'Donnell's citizenship status and the potential renaming of the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians. Connecticut Democratic Rep. Jim Himes told the same network yesterday: 'When people like Tulsi Gabbard and Donald Trump accuse an ex-president of a capital crime that is punishable by death, who is going to die? Who is going to die because they've decided that they need a distraction away from the Epstein calamity.' 'Gabbard nonsense' was cooked up 'purely as a distraction from Epstein,' an opinion shared by ex-Republican congressman Denver Riggleman. Democratic National Committee delegate Kaivan Shroff went further, lashing out at the intelligence chief on Newsmax by saying that Gabbard 'has built her career as a stooge for dictators and that is why Donald Trump picked her… [The president] is embroiled in so many scandals dividing his base that he wants to distract with this.'

Ghislaine Maxwell's brother thanks Donald Trump for his ‘positive statement' about his sister in 2020
Ghislaine Maxwell's brother thanks Donald Trump for his ‘positive statement' about his sister in 2020

The Independent

time17 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Ghislaine Maxwell's brother thanks Donald Trump for his ‘positive statement' about his sister in 2020

Ian Maxwell, the brother of jailed Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, has thanked President Donald Trump for making a 'positive statement' about his sister in 2020 and showing her 'humanity.' Appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Tuesday to discuss the revived furore over Epstein after Trump's Justice Department said that no 'client list' belonging to the late billionaire pedophile existed, Ian Maxwell once more defended Ghislaine, who was jailed in 2022 for her role in the disgraced financier's sex trafficking operation. Asked by Morgan whether she had 'pulled the wool over your eyes' regarding her involvement in Epstein's crimes, Maxwell responded: 'No, I believe my sister. 'I've known her [for] 60 years, Piers. You know, I'm not going to suddenly say she started pulling the wool. I don't think so. I don't believe so. Not for a second.' Pivoting to Trump, Maxwell said: 'President Trump was asked the only time, I believe, in public – at the tail end of his presidency, so, you know, November, December 2021 [sic] – about Ghislaine and he said, 'You know, I don't know much about it, but I wish her well.' 'And I don't think that anyone else showed the slightest piece of humanity, not anybody at that time, and yet he did. He didn't need to. He's the president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world. He could've just sloughed it off. He didn't. He made a positive statement. I am very grateful to that and I know Ghislaine was too.' The comment Maxwell referred to was actually made by Trump in July 2020 when Ghislaine was arrested and charged with sex trafficking. 'I haven't really been following it too much,' the president said at the time. 'I just wish her well, frankly. I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach. And I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well.' Asked about it a month later by then-Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, Trump doubled down and said: 'I wish her well, I'd wish you well, I'd wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty. 'Her boyfriend died in jail and people are still trying to figure out how did it happen? Was it suicide? Was he killed? And I do wish her well. I'm not looking for anything bad for her. I'm not looking bad for anybody.' The president remains under pressure to explain his past friendship with Epstein after the Justice Department's attempt to draw a line under the case sparked an angry backlash from his own supporters, with many pointing to Attorney General Pam Bondi 's declaration earlier this year that his case file was 'sitting on my desk waiting to be reviewed' as suggesting its release was imminent. Archive photos and video indicate that Trump and Epstein knew each other socially in New York and Florida from the 1980s to the early 2000s, and the president is on record as praising the abuser as a 'terrific guy.' However, he has since distanced himself and is currently suing The Wall Street Journal for alleging that he once sent him a lewd hand-drawn birthday card. The president has tried hard to change the narrative over the last two weeks, attacking numerous old foes on social media in scattergun fashion, rebuking his own 'past' supporters for dwelling on the subject, and complaining to the press at a recent cabinet meeting: 'Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy's been talked about for years. Are people still talking about this guy, this creep?' Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Tuesday that, at the direction of AG Bondi, he had contacted Ghislaine's legal counsel about arranging an interview with her and declared: 'No one is above the law – and no lead is off-limits.' Trump signaled his approval of that step in the Oval Office shortly afterwards, saying it 'sounded appropriate.' Meanwhile, a panel of judges has ruled that more information is needed before they can rule on the release of grand jury testimony related to Epstein, and House Speaker Mike Johnson has declined to hold a House vote on whether to order the release of all federal files on him until after Congress's summer recess.

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