Trump Defends DOJ's Powell Probe; Iran Death Toll Jumps

On today's podcast:1) President Trump dismissed Jamie Dimon’s criticism over the Justice Department probe into the Federal Reserve, saying the JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive officer was “wrong” to suggest he was undermining the independence of the central bank. Earlier Tuesday, Dimon expressed concern about the investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell over the cost of the central bank’s headquarters renovation and his subsequent congressional testimony about the project. Trump said he would press ahead with plans to announce Powell’s replacement within “the next few weeks” despite the backlash to the probe, which has drawn criticism from Republican lawmakers — including a threat by Senator Thom Tillis, a retiring North Carolina Republican and swing vote on the Senate Banking Committee. Tillis has said he would block new nominations to the Fed until the matter is resolved.2) More than 2,500 people have been killed in Iranian protests that have swept the nation, activist groups said, as Tehran continued its crackdown despite President Trump’s threat of action over mounting fatalities. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported 2,571 deaths as of Wednesday, up from about 500 at the start of the week and amid speculation the actual toll could be dramatically higher. On Tuesday, Trump urged Iranians to continue protests against the regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.3) Top diplomats from Greenland and Denmark are gearing up for the test of a lifetime as they work to persuade the Trump administration to back off on its demands for the Arctic territory that threaten to break up the NATO defense alliance. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his counterpart from Nuuk, Vivian Motzfeldt, will face US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Wednesday, just hours after the island’s prime minister said that if made to choose, Greenland would opt for Denmark.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.