In the classic 1964 film Becket, in 1170 AD King Henry II of England (played by Peter O’Toole), angered by the opposition of the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket (played by Richard Burton), expresses his frustration by saying “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?” Four knights who heard this interpreted it as a command and, no doubt seeking to curry favor with their boss by showing how loyal they were, they then murdered Becket. This event is a historical fact, though those are likely not the exact words used by Henry II, especially since he spoke only Latin and French and his words had to be later translated into English. Ever since then, that sentence has been invoked whenever someone in power has a rival removed without explicitly ordering it.

The phrase is commonly used in modern-day contexts to express that a ruler’s wish may be interpreted as a command by their subordinates. It is also commonly understood as shorthand for any rhetorical device allowing leaders to covertly order or exhort violence among their followers, while still being able to claim plausible deniability for political, legal, or other reasons.

This episode immediately came to my mind when I heard that Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, had been subpoenaed as part of a criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve by the department of justice. Trump has repeatedly railed against Powell because he did not reduce interest rates as frequently and as rapidly as he wanted him to and it appears that a quartet of Trump sycophants interpreted this the way Henry II’s knights did, that they needed to remove Powell.

Enter Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, a Trump loyalist who has been a driving force in weaponizing the federal government against the president’s perceived enemies. Pulte, who echoes Trump’s complaints about high borrowing costs and traveled to Mar-a-Lago this weekend with the president, urged lawmakers to investigate Powell’s testimony and submitted a criminal referral to the DOJ. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fl., another MAGA zealot, formally referred Powell to Attorney General Pam Bondi for potential perjury and false statements. Former Fox News personality and Trump sycophant Jeanine Pirro, now serving as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, signed off on this investigation.

This act has sent shockwaves through the international financial community since the independence of central banks is considered essential for setting sound monetary policy that should be largely based on factors like the unemployment and inflation rates. To have that policy set at the whim of a politician, especially one as greedy and self-serving as Trump, would be a disaster. Thirteen former Fed chairs and the heads of central banks in many western countries have condemned this clear act of retribution and intimidation.

Global central banks have issued an extraordinary joint statement offering “full solidarity” to the US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, in the face of the latest threat to his independence from Donald Trump’s White House.

“The independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of the citizens that we serve. It is therefore critical to preserve that independence, with full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability,” the statement said.

It was signed by 10 central bank governors including the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, and the chair of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde. It was coordinated by the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements, which added its chair and general manager to the signatories.

Other signatories to the unprecedented statement include the central bank governors of Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Brazil, South Korea, Norway and Canada.

They pay testament to Powell’s “integrity” and “unwavering commitment to the public interest”, calling him a “respected colleague who is held in the highest regard by all who have worked with him”.

The boss of JP Morgan, the largest US bank, also warned against attacks on Powell, amid fears it would undermine central bank independence and ultimately push up borrowing costs.

Trump of course claims that he neither ordered the investigation nor did he even know about it.

Trump denied Sunday that he knew about the subpoenas aimed at Powell, just as he did when his Justice Department neared the indictments of Comey and James. Nevertheless, the influence of Trump’s longtime attacks on Powell would be a centerpiece of Powell’s defense against any such charges — which Powell himself made clear in a video statement Sunday night.

That absolutely strains credibility. Investigating the Federal Reserve and its chair is a huge deal. In most previous administrations, where there was at least a semblance of independence between the White House and the department of justice, such a claim may have had some plausibility. But in this case the attorney general Pam Bondi is clearly Trump’s poodle, eagerly hanging on his every word as to what she should do. There is no way that a dim bulb like Pirro who, like many in Trump’s close circle, used to be a Fox News personality, would take such a major action on her own without getting it cleared all the way to the top, unless she is an even dimmer bulb than was previously thought. Trump is lying, as he almost always is, and is likely setting up Pirro to take the fall if the outcry causes the investigation and subpoena to be reversed.

I think that Trump may have underestimated Powell. Powell is a soft-spoken man and has been careful to be discreet and deferential to Trump while still trying to maintain his distance and the Fed’s independence. Trump may have seen this as weakness, that he could be pushed around. Powell seems to have had enough and it was he who announced in a brief video statement that he was being investigated and, although he spoke in his usual moderate tone of voice, it was an extraordinarily frank and combative statement, stating unequivocally that the action was being taken because the Fed was not acquiescing to Trump’s demands. It was a clear repudiation of Trump.

The weird thing is that this was unnecessary. Powell’s term as chair is due to end in May and then Trump could have appointed another of his lackeys to the post, since the spineless Republicans in the senate would likely confirm even a potted plant. Trump’s action may well backfire. Rather than forcing Powell out, Powell seems even more determined to stay on until the end of his term. Furthermore, although he has to step down as chair in May, his term on the board of the the Federal Reserve goes on until 2028.

Both within and outside of the central bank, one of the main conclusions was that this makes Powell more likely, rather than less, to stay on as a regular governor after his chairmanship ends. His term on the Fed board runs until 2028, and the Trump administration would much rather have another ally in that seat.

People close to the Fed chief, who at times exudes mild burnout, had previously put heavy odds on him leaving after May, but that probability has dropped in the wake of the president’s actions.

He may well decide to stay on until 2028 just in order to be a thorn in Trump’s side. Trump may then have to find some excuse to try and remove him from the board. He currently has been trying to remove another one of the governors Lisa Cook who has sued to stop him. That case is now before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court is weighing Trump’s bid to fire Cook over unproven allegations of mortgage fraud lodged by Pulte. Pulte was a crucial driver of claims that Powell should be investigated for potentially lying to Congress about the cost overruns of the Fed’s building renovation.

We have to be thankful that some members of Trump’s MAGA cult have not fully copied the example of Henry II’s knights and taken the extra step of murdering Powell. At least, not yet.