A federal judge has rejected a request by an ally of President Trump to force the opening of this week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting to the public.
Bloomberg reports James Fishback’s investment firm Azoria Capital sued the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell, claiming the central bank’s practice of holding its monetary policy meetings behind closed doors ran afoul of the federal transparency requirements of the Sunshine in Government Act.
US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled against Azoria Capital, stating the Sunshine Act did not apply to the FOMC meeting. The judge turned down the firm’s lawsuit for an emergency order to open this committee’s July 29-30 meeting, determining that it was unlikely for the lawsuit to succeed.
Fishback, who founded a political action committee supporting Trump, claimed the Fed under the leadership of Chairman Jerome Powell was seeking “to undermine President Donald J. Trump and his economic agenda” by keeping rates at their current level. His effort became part of a wider campaign by the White House and its supporters to pressure the Fed to lower rates
“Azoria looks forward to continuing our case and fighting for transparency and accountability for all Americans,” said Fishback in an emailed statement.
Another attempt by billionaires to politicize the central bank for their own gain.
If the Feds were trying to undermine only Trump, then they would NOT have had the sudden increase in interest rates during the Biden Administration.
I may not agree with the Fed policies all the time, but I don’t think they care about which party is in power. They appear to set policies that work mainly for the rich.