• President Trump rebukes Wall Street Journal reporting on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s alleged warnings over firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The rebuke comes amid Trump’s defamation suit against the Journal over its reporting on a letter to Jeffrey Epstein. Legal experts question Trump’s authority to unilaterally remove Powell, rattling financial markets.

PALM BEACH, FL (TDR) — President Trump issued a sharp and public denunciation of The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, rejecting a report that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent privately discouraged him from removing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell—a move that has recently sparked concern across financial markets.

The Journal’s story, published Saturday, suggested Bessent had cautioned the president that firing Powell could destabilize the economy. President Trump, in a statement posted to Truth Social, called the report “untruthful,” asserting that no one needed to instruct him on market fundamentals.

“Nobody had to explain that to me,” Trump wrote. “I know better than anybody what’s good for the Market, and what’s good for the U.S.A.”

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“If it weren’t for me, the Market wouldn’t be at Record Highs right now, it probably would have CRASHED!”

Authority to Fire Powell Challenged

Legal scholars maintain that a president lacks the unilateral authority to dismiss a Federal Reserve chair without cause. The Federal Reserve Act grants a degree of independence to the central bank’s leadership, a safeguard designed to protect monetary policy from political interference.

Nonetheless, Trump has remained vocally critical of Powell—whom he appointed—over the Fed’s rate hikes and more recently, for maintaining what Trump sees as a restrictive economic posture.

The Federal Reserve declined to comment on the story, telling reporters it did not “have anything to share.”

Lawsuit Over Epstein Reporting Escalates Media Tensions

The president’s clash with the Journal comes just days after filing a defamation suit against the newspaper for reporting on a birthday letter he allegedly sent to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. The story claims the letter was typed inside the outline of a nude woman and included the phrase:

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“A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

Trump’s legal filing states the article has caused “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” and seeks billions in damages.

“Defendants concocted this story to malign President Trump’s character and integrity,” the suit alleges.

Political and Economic Reverberations

The president’s legal and political entanglements come as he faces mounting calls—even among allies—for transparency regarding federal records on Epstein, who died under suspicious circumstances in federal custody in 2019.

While Trump administration officials previously endorsed alternative theories, a recent statement confirmed that Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide and that no “client list” exists—a finding met with skepticism across the political spectrum.

Is the Trump administration’s effort to reshape financial governance being obscured by intensifying battles with the press—and at what cost to public trust?

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