This is Rep. Alan Grayson asking Federal Reserve General Counsel Scott Alvarez about the Fed’s independence.

Having posted another of his withering questioning sessions before, Grayson seems to be someone to watch. It’s quite refreshing to see government officials squirm under his questioning. Remember the days when the Main Stream Media had the balls to do that?




  1. bobbo, gag me with a maggot filled spoon says:

    Would a large institution with little active oversight that deals in money transactions have any interest in manipulating another large institution with little active oversight that deals in money transactions?

    I think they would be guided by whats best for the American Taxpayer.

  2. Olo Baggins of Bywater says:

    I’m sure you’re right, bobbo. heh

    Who elected this guy.

    Whoever it was, Thank You.

  3. Audit the Federal Reserve.

    That what the Senator is driving for, and I agree.

  4. Tim says:

    Why is there a time limit on questioning? Isn’t the whole point to get answers to these questions?

    I think the whole process is a ruse to make the public think were going after these people. All anyone testifying has to do is go into some long drawn out song and dance until the time expires for the person asking the question. I don’t see how that benefits anyone.

    My favorite is when someone makes a lengthy inquiry and the respondent asks “Can you repeat the question”. They know the game and that response if basically a “Fuck you, you aren’t getting shit out of me”.

  5. Mark T. says:

    Well, he is a Representative, not a Senator, from Florida’s 8th Congressional District but was born in the Bronx. And a Democrat to boot!

    I wish the Honorable Alan Grayson good luck in his push to audit the Federal Reserve. It is long overdue.

    If any of you hate the way the banks have handled the entire high risk mortgage fiasco, then I want you to remember that the Federal Reserve is the “bank for the banks”. They are the ones that create and loan all dollars to all the independent banks.

    They are not bystanders in the credit bubble. They are the facilitators (if not the instigators). They should be under the same, if not more, scrutiny than banks such as Chase, JP Morgan, Bank of Amerca, etc.

  6. jealousmonk says:

    So that is what happened to Dick Smothers.

  7. chuck says:

    “Has the Federal Reserve ever tried to manipulate the stock market?”

    A: What do you think we’ve been doing all along?

  8. madtruckman says:

    you wanna talk about too big to fail, check out the federal reserve……

  9. DA says:

    Just an FYI, This was at the hearing Friday morning for Ron Pauls bill (hr1207) to audit the fed. The bill now has 295 cosponsors.

    I was very impressed with Grayson when I was watching, he really knows how to grill them.

  10. Cursor_ says:

    2 Five star dinners, one golf membership for 125k and a blow job from a 15 year old and this guy will not have anything but nice things to say about the reserve.

    Business as usual in DC.

    Cursor_

  11. MoneyBags says:

    Nice dance.

  12. Father says:

    You mean when Greenspan was trying to “slow” the irrational exuberance, or when he was trying to jumpstart the economy after the 2001 bubble burst/911, and again in 2008?

    The Fed is the “Ponzie” of Wall St., controlling the ups and downs.

  13. Somebody says:

    “Remember the days when the Main Stream Media had the balls to do that?”

    No.

  14. Uncle Dave says:

    #14: Too young to remember Watergate, eh?

  15. brm says:

    #15:

    It’s unfortunate that Watergate *was* the last time the media had brass balls.

    So yeah, we are too young. And that’s a shame.

  16. mark_sf says:

    Alan Grayson has no idea what he’s talking about. Already knew that from months ago. Now I know he’s an asshole too.

  17. mark_sf says:

    Seriously people. Just listen to the last question. Who got the money? It was from open market purchases. Stop listening to this fool.

  18. Buzz says:

    Manipulate? In what way? Seek to stabilize? Seek to generate insider profits? Seek to regulate? Seek to depress? Seek to enhance transaction rate scheduling for a select few cronies?

    Grayson is right to pursue the question, but the response is right to insist on clarity.

    “Look, I simply want to know how many millimeters it is from here to Mars right now!”

    “Now?”

    “Yes, now!”

    “That first now or the last now?”

    “Right NOW!”

    “Measured from your nose or from my pen?”

    “You’re quibbling!”

    “Quibbling now?”

    It’s very easy to ask questions in forms that would generate “simple” encyclopedic mega-volumes of data as answers. This makes the questioner look reasonable while making the respondent look evasive. It’s an old trick.

    When viewing interrogations, watch for phrases like “I think you KNOW what I mean, you scum-sucking, elusive, lying dick wad.” They may be loaded in some way.

  19. GregA says:

    This conspiracy theory that “the Fed isn’t audited” is a joke. Check here for some facts:

    http://www.publiceye.org/conspire/flaherty/flaherty6.html

    Here is a brief exceprt:
    “In 1978 Congress passed the Federal Banking Agency Audit Act (31 USCA §714). It placed the Federal Reserve System back under the auditing authority of the GAO. The Act significantly increased the access of the GAO to the Federal Reserve Banks, the Board, and the Federal Open Market Committee (the FOMC). Since then, the GAO has conducted over 100 financial audits and performance audits of the three Federal Reserve bodies.3

    Grayson should spend less time haranguing, and more time working to become informed about very complicated issues and financial mechanisms, that do require some reform — ohy, wait, that won’t get you on Fox News…Never mind.

  20. Qon Quixote says:

    I waited through this entire video to see the broad in the background remove her shirt with no bra. I was disappointed.

  21. LibertyLover says:

    This is all just a formality.

    With over 2/3 of the House sponsoring and 75% of the population supporting the bill, if it doesn’t make it out committee there will be some serious questions as to why it never saw the light of day.

    http://tinyurl.com/yb9tpyk

    Slowly but surely the Giant is reawakening.

  22. ian807 says:

    I sympathize with the senator, but the questions he was asking remind me of a typical “pointy haired boss” who doesn’t even have enough knowledge to formulate a meaningful question.


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