CNBC Anchor Stunned By Trump Ally’s One-Word Take On Campaign To Torpedo Fed Chair

CNBC anchor Sara Eisen was taken aback by Sen. Kevin Cramer’s (R-ND) take on President Donald Trump’s campaign to torpedo Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell with a federal investigation.

Trump has habitually attacked Powell and constantly pressured him to lower interest rates. Now, the Fed chair is facing an investigation over the renovation of Federal Reserve buildings and whether he lied to Congress about the project.

Cramer, a staunch Trump ally, has suggested that Powell cut a deal to resign in order to avoid what is viewed by many as a coercive prosecution.

On Wednesday’s edition of CNBC’s Money Movers, Eisen asked Cramer if that suggestion amounts to an admission that the probe amounts to extortion.

The senator replied with an adjective for that deal that stunned Eisen, calling it an “elegant way out”:

SARA EISEN: Welcome back. We’ve heard from several GOP members speaking out against the Justice Department investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Our next guest is one of them, but last night he went on another network and said this.

SEN. Kevin CRAMER (R-ND): (VIDEO CLIP).

Maybe the point should be, if you’re the attorney for Jay Powell and you want to avoid an indictment–.

How about you go to Jeanine Pirro and say, “I’ll make a deal. I’ll step down today if you’ll drop the investigation today.”.

To me, that would be a win-win for everybody.

SARA EISEN: Joining us now is Republican North Dakota Senator Kevin Kramer, also a member of the Senate Banking Committee.

Senator, what did you mean by that? Isn’t that an admission here, that what the administration is doing then is basically coercion to get Fed Chair Powell out?

SEN. Kevin CRAMER (R-ND): Well, I don’t think it’s a secret that the administration would like Jay Powell out, they would have liked him out a long time ago. So would I.

I’m just, all I’m suggesting is that if you want to put this behind us sooner rather than later and deal with the other big issues of the day, which this is detracting from, this would be, in my view, an elegant way out of it.

And okay, so he misses three and a half months of his two-term presidency. I think it would be a noble act.

On the other hand, if he wants to stand firm based on some sort of disguise of independence, and I say that because I don’t think Jay Powell has been all that independent as the Fed chair, then so be it. He can make that a noble position as well.

SARA EISEN: You think it would be an elegant solution for the Fed chair– under the threat of an indictment for something that the Fed is saying is a breach of Fed independence to even look into — to step down because he doesn’t want to be investigated further and indicted?

That doesn’t sound elegant!

SEN. Kevin CRAMER (R-ND): Okay, so you disagree with that.

The reality is that an indictment is not a pleasant situation. When the chairman called me over the weekend to tell me that this was coming, I felt for him.

That this is obviously not a fun thing to go through. He doesn’t have to do it. He can, like I said, stand firm and fight the good fight if that’s what he wants to do.

But that really doesn’t help anybody, including him.

SARA EISEN: But he thinks this is about something else. He thinks this is about the president wanting his way. He thinks, I mean, he made it clear, Fed Chair Powell, that he thinks this is about president wanting his way with the Fed.

Wanting the monetary policy that he wants and wanting Fed Chair Powell off the governor’s committee.

SEN. Kevin CRAMER (R-ND): So one of the things that Chairman Paul could have done to avoid all of this is answer the inquiries from the Department of Justice. I’ve always found it’s best to comply when law enforcement officers ask you for information.

Watch above via CNBC’s Money Movers.

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