The Department of Justice’s decision to open a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell has reignited concern over the independence of the central bank.

In unusually blunt remarks, Powell described the unprecedented probe as part of a political attack by the White House over the Fed’s refusal to drastically cut interest rates, as President Donald Trump has long advocated.

But how unique are such apparent attempts to undermine the central bank’s authority? And what would be the consequences of chipping away at Fed independence? To understand what’s at stake, The Conversation turned to Cristina Bodea, a Michigan State University professor who has been studying central bank best practices for more than two decades.

How unique is this moment in American history?

It is unique in the sense that we haven’t seen a Fed chair criminally investigated ever.

But if we go back in history to the Nixon and Reagan years, presidents have put a lot of pressure on Fed chairs when economic conditions were bad – more precisely, there was high unemployment........

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