Fed Obstruction Continues

The Federal Reserve stepped up efforts to block the already court-ordered disclosure of the identities of the banks that would have collapsed were it not for their extraordinary $2 Trillion intervention. A U.S. appeals court was asked by the Fed to overturn a judge's order from August of 2009 that forced the Fed to reveal the information. The suit was brought by Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News.

Bloomberg argues that the public has the right to know basic information about the “unprecedented and highly controversial use” of public money. Banks and the Fed warn that bailed-out lenders may be hurt if the documents are made public, causing a run or a sell-off by investors. Disclosure may hamstring the Fed’s ability to deal with another crisis, they also argued. The lower court agreed with Bloomberg.

TARP isn't even the story here. TARP recipients are readily identified, along with the amount they received and the date they received it. And TARP amounted to less than $400 billion to banks in total. What we're talking about here is over $2 Trillion created out of thin air that the Fed lent (or gave, who the hell knows?) in secret completely off the books.

Here's hoping the appeals court not only upholds the previous ruling, but holds the Fed in contempt for every hour the information doesn't get disclosed.