Federal Reserve governor Michael Barr said Thursday the Justice Department’s criminal inquiry into the central bank — as well as the White House’s accusations against Fed governor Lisa Cook — amount to “an assault on the independence of the Fed.”

“I think these are just examples of the ways in which the independence of the Fed is being challenged,” Barr told Yahoo Finance in an interview Thursday.

Despite the pressure, the Fed is “acting only for economic reasons. We are acting only according to our congressional mandate,” he said. “That’s to make sure that we have price stability and maximum employment.

“That’s what we’ve been focused on all along, and that’s what we will stay focused on.”

News broke Sunday night that the Justice Department had served subpoenas on the Fed last Friday, specifically focused on Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before Congress about building renovations of the Fed’s Washington, D.C., headquarters.

Read more: How much control does the president have over the Fed and interest rates?

Powell, with rare candor, responded with a video message that the criminal probe was not about his testimony but a new means of pressuring the central bank to lower interest rates as President Trump has repeatedly called for.

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell said in a recorded video.

This story will be updated.

Jennifer Schonberger covers the Federal Reserve, Congress, the White House, the Treasury, the SEC, the economy, cryptocurrencies, and the intersection of Washington policy with finance. Follow her on X @Jenniferisms and on Instagram.

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