For the first time since taking over from Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has received a lashing from a public official.
Wisconsin Republican Congressman Sean Duffy took Yellen to task for close to two minutes. Why? He accuses Yellen and the central bank of suppressing documents that have been subpoenaed for a current congressional leak investigation.
According to the ongoing probe, there was a leak of confidential information to Medley Global Advisors, a firm that sells market analysis to investors, regarding a 2012 meeting of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policymakers.
Yellen did concede that she did meet with the firm’s senior managing director, Regina Schleiger, in 2012, when she was the Fed Vice-Chair. However, Yellen avers that the meeting took place several months prior to the these Fed discussions and the meeting was about the economy.
Here is one part of Duffy’s remarks:
“You did absolutely nothing—zero. … You did nothing to perpetuate an investigation that would lead us to the truth,” Duffy stated. “Madam Chair, it appears that you are the one who is jeopardizing—or the Fed is the one who is jeopardizing—this investigation. Am I wrong?”
Yellen simply responded: “We want to see this investigation succeed.”
Duffy later added: “If anyone is trying to sweep this under the rug, it’s the Fed. It is Congress who is trying to bring light to this.”
The entire exchange can be viewed below:
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