Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Ron Paul: Fed Needs to Clear the Air on its History



The Federal Reserve may grow in power under the Senate's plans for financial reform, but Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said on Washington Unplugged today that Congress has abdicated its oversight responsibilities, allowing the Fed to funnel money to whomever it pleases -- even possibly the Watergate burglars.


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Regardless of whether such a plot is true, "it gives you a good reason to audit the Federal Reserve," Paul told moderator Bob Schieffer.

Paul and other legislators have blasted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, charging he has failed to maintain sound credit markets, among other things. Paul has led a popular legislative effort to audit the Fed.

At a congressional hearing last month at which Bernanke testified, Paul charged the Federal Reserve with facilitating the Watergate burglars, as well as funneling $5.5 billion to Saddam Hussein in the 1980s. Bernanke called the allegations "bizarre."

On Unplugged today, Paul said his charges are backed up by a book by former House Financial Services Committee staffer Robert Auerbach, now a professor at the University of Texas.

For the rest of the story, go to: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/03/03/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6263310.shtml