Warsh Knows the Score about Gold Price Suppression. Will He Share It?

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Kevin M. Warsh, President Trump's nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve, is known to have knowledge of the U.S. government's policy of suppressing the price of gold, according to a report. Warsh volunteered this information to a lawyer for the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) in 2009 during a freedom-of-information lawsuit seeking access to the Federal Reserve's gold records. The report also notes that Warsh has previously written about governments' efforts to "manage and manipulate asset prices" through "financial repression."

Why it matters

The revelation that a potential future Fed chair has direct knowledge of the U.S. government's gold price suppression policy raises questions about the Fed's independence and transparency, as well as the integrity of the gold market. This could have significant implications for monetary policy and the global financial system.

The details

In 2009, during a freedom-of-information lawsuit by GATA seeking access to the Fed's gold records, Warsh wrote to GATA's lawyer that the records the Fed was keeping secret included information about gold swap arrangements between the Fed and foreign banks. Two years later, Warsh wrote an essay in The Wall Street Journal about "financial repression" by governments, stating that "efforts to manage and manipulate asset prices are not new."

• In September 2009, Warsh volunteered information about the Fed's gold price suppression policy to GATA's lawyer.
• In December 2011, Warsh wrote an essay in The Wall Street Journal about governments' efforts to suppress "asset prices they don't like" through "financial repression."

What they’re saying

What’s next

If Warsh is confirmed as the next Federal Reserve chairman, there will be increased scrutiny on the central bank's policies and transparency around the gold market.