If President Donald Trump thinks piling pressure on the Federal Reserve will further his goal of lowering interest rates and stimulating economic growth, he should think again. On the contrary, it’s likely to have the opposite effect.

It’s hard to see the Justice Department’s criminal investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, purportedly for statements surrounding the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters, as anything other than the latest iteration of Trump’s campaign to subjugate the Fed. As such, it’s a huge mistake — one that further cedes the high ground to Powell.

Let me count the ways in which the move will undercut Trump’s own aims.

First, it’ll now be much more difficult for Powell to back further rate cuts. If he did, investors would worry that the Fed’s independence had already been compromised. Is Powell cutting rates........

© The Korea Times