The Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors has formally asked a federal judge to reject a bid by prosecutors to revive subpoenas targeting the central bank and its chairman, Jerome Powell.

In a court filing unsealed Thursday, lawyers for the Fed argued that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia failed to meet the stringent legal threshold required for a judge to reconsider the case.

The Fed maintains that the criminal probe into Senate testimony Powell provided last June regarding cost overruns for a headquarters renovation project is actually a politically motivated effort driven by President Donald Trump to harass Powell and pressure the central bank into lowering interest rates.

Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia quashed the subpoenas on March 11, finding “abundant evidence” that their dominant, if not sole, purpose was to pressure Powell to either yield to the president or resign.

The subpoenas had sought records regarding the $2.5 billion renovation of the central bank’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, as well as Powell’s congressional testimony about the project.

The Fed’s lawyers wrote that the government’s motion for reconsideration “does not mention — let alone meet — the demanding legal standard that applies to the extraordinary relief” it sought, which typically requires new evidence, an intervening change in law or the need to correct a clear error.

The U.S. attorney’s office, led by Jeanine Pirro, filed its motion for reconsideration on March 12, arguing that Boasberg applied an incorrect legal standard and overlooked relevant facts. Prosecutors have pointed to a $1.2 billion cost overrun on the renovation project as justification for a grand jury investigation.

The Fed’s opposition brief countered that the project is subject to rigorous and ongoing independent oversight. The Fed’s independent inspector general audited the renovation several years ago without raising fraud concerns, and is currently conducting another look at the project at Powell’s request. 

Furthermore, the Fed’s filing pointed out that Boasberg had already found that “the Government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the President.”

The U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately respond to Scotsman Guide’s request for comment. A Federal Reserve spokesperson declined to comment.

A transcript of a sealed court hearing reviewed by The Associated Press showed that a prosecutor from Pirro’s office admitted the government lacked evidence that Powell committed a crime.

“So what false statements did [Powell] make before Congress?” the judge asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Massucco during the March 3 hearing, according to the AP.

“Well, we don’t know is my first answer,” replied Massucco. “However, there are certain areas that he addressed that caused concern.”

The Washington Post first reported on the transcript details.

The legal battle unfolds amid intense political pressure regarding U.S. monetary policy — a critical factor for the mortgage and real estate industries. Trump has called for loyalty from the next Federal Reserve chair, explicitly stating in December that anyone unwilling to lower interest rates during good economic times “will never be the Fed Chairman!”

Powell had drawn the president’s ire for not complying with his demands to drastically lower interest rates to bolster the economy. During a cabinet meeting Thursday, Trump complained he was being sued but Powell was not, in statements that mixed his monetary demands with renewed allegations of Powell’s corruption.

“They sue me,” Trump remarked, “but they don’t sue the guy whose interest rates are too high.” It is unclear what litigation the president was referring to, but the administration has been sued at least 650 times, according to The New York Times.

Trump also mused that the building at the heart of his legal battle with Powell might never be occupied by his nominee for the next Fed chair, Kevin Warsh.

“We’re gonna have to find him some space in the White House,” Trump said. “We’ll put him in the basement of the ballroom.”