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Second Circuit Tells Fed If It Wants To Maintain Its Secrecy It Better Get Congress To Change America's Laws
Key selection from the Second Circuit's Fed FOIA appeal:
The “public interest” standard rejected in Merrill is the functional equivalent of the “program effectiveness” test, as the Board invokes it: the agency gets to withhold whatever it deems harmful to disclose--and an agency’s decision as to its own mission and effectiveness is the kind of thing that ordinarily commands deferential review. The Board and the Clearing House undertake to show that disclosure would harm the banks that borrowed (by disclosing their prior distress) and the banking system as a whole (because banks under stress may hesitate to seek relief or rescue), and that these harms will reduce the effectiveness of measures critical to the banking system. The arguments are plausible, and forcefully made. But a test that permits an agency to deny disclosure because the agency thinks it best to do so (or convinces a court to think so, by logic or deference) would undermine “the basic policy that disclosure, not secrecy, is the dominant objective of [FOIA].” See Rose, 425 U.S. at 361.
The requirement of disclosure under FOIA and its proper limits are matters of congressional policy. The statute as written by Congress sets forth no basis for the exemption the Board asks us to read into it. If the Board believes such an exemption would better serve the national interest, it should ask Congress to amend the statute.
In other words: if the Fed wants to maintain its strict secrecy, it better get Congress to change the laws immediately. Of course, if that happens it will become very clear who controls not just the fiscal and monetary destiny of America, its executive control (via the recently institued bilateral decision making of who apoints who - the President of the United States <-> The President of the FRBNY, and vice versa), but also the legislative. As for the judicial, we will know definitively when the Supreme Court overturns this decision. In other words, the Federal Reserve is about to become the President, the Congress and the Supreme Court (not to mention Wall Street) all rolled into one.
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Further proof that Geithner needs to go to prison.
+1 to the infintiy power.....
You do realize that +1^inf is still +1, right? :)
yeah but it's an infinitely powerful 1.
Math illiterate people have no right commenting on finance. Good job!!!
It's all in good fun. If curbyourisk is a successful investor, then I'm sure his math skills are just fine.
I just couldn't resist the soft ball though. ;)
If things are quite so bad, why should we expect any response to be accurate, or more specifically complete. You either "trust" them or you don't.
And now calling your reps to express our dissent can be taken as harassment: http://biggovernment.com/capitolconfidential/2010/03/19/the-heat-is-on-congressmans-office-says-constituent-calls-are-harassment/
Not a Rush Limbaugh fan, but this is interesting.
http://www.rbr.com/radio/22516.html
The heat is on.
That's some crazy shit. But then, the Boy Scouts have been recruited by Homeland Security to "serve" : http://www.infowars.com/boy-scouts-train-to-become-homeland-gestapo/
Likewise for Girl Scouts, local police, school children in general, clergymen nationwide, et al.
Thank God for the web. Hope Obama's CyberCzar doesn't pull the plug.
will there be a reward if we turn in the free thinkers? Who should i call, my neighbor didnt pay taxes?
Hi, homeland security, my mom says the government is corrupt. Do i get a prize for turning her in?
I know it sounds ridiculous, but this is where we are heading. Nazy germany became like that and we are following that path, sad to say.
I really liked America the way it was in 63 when i first arrived here. Now i see the populace is in shock, confusion and ignorant of what really transpires in our country.
The obama white house blog set up an email address you can forward 'fishy' emails to.
flag@whitehouse.gov
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/facts-are-stubborn-things/
Turn in your friends!
O.M.F.G................... thank u for posting this. totalitarianism is upon us. Does Soviet States of America sound good? the good ol' S.S. of A?
Laws ? Ha ! Laws only apply to serfs and vassals.
Truer words were never spoken.
So what are the civil and criminal penalties for FOIA violation again? I forget.
Double secret probation!
Someone (mail clerk) must stand in the corner or write on the black board 500 times "I will be nice."
I like that the hot potato "buck" (pun intended) was passed by the court. Of course, if Congress does pass a law, what was obvious will become self evident. If Congress doesn't pass the law, the Fed can simply say "Make Me".
Me thinks congress will not pass a law. Then the FED will say "make me".
And Congress will huff and puff and....
do nothing.
But, like Lucy, Charlie Brown, and the football, the Amerikan Sheeple are fooled by it everytime.
You get a blowjob?
lol, and then a corner office at GS.
That would be a very good reason to unelect all of the current Congress.
...the Federal Reserve is about to become the President, the Congress and the Supreme Court (not to mention Wall Street) all rolled into one.
Better to have your adversaries gathered in one place. Then, one shot gets them all. Make no mistake, the market has always been far bigger and far less controllable than TPTB. When it makes its "one shot", they all will feel it.
The resulting melee of blame and finger-pointing will be (sardonically) amusing and relieving.
Maybe then, we can rebuild?
'gelatin' tests have shown that that a properly placed .50 cal could make it all the way through.
Firearms are for defense, not offense. Besides, worst possible "solution". The political dissenters in this nation, that'd be us, all get branded "terrorists", and the pretense for for an incredible crackdown of dissent is handed to the aristocratic establishment on a platter.
Non cooperation works if we can only muster the ability to organize it. Crash TBTF's via Move Your Money.
Pull out of the markets. Let them fall.
Nationwide strikes. Continual, drumbeat, relentless use of the 1st amendment to expose the charade. If they crack down, it just forces their hand more and wakes more people up.
But violence is the worst possible reaction. Awful, awful awful.
Listen, I'd like to hang a few of the bastards myself for high treason against the United States. But wouldn't it be sweet if we could turn this thing around and witness the executions nationwide, being carried out by US Army MP's or the Justice Department? You know, a Dept. of Justice that was actually working for us? Sorry bro, had to mention it. Anytime someone brings up violence or bloody revolution it makes me cringe. I immediatey think of failure.
The tricky thing is defining what defense is, in this case. Because once it gets to the point of defending against imminent force - like martial law or crackdowns or something - it's probably too late (unless you've got your own trained and well-armed militia). Talk about failure.
I'd be careful about what political thoughts that you think out loud. You might just get listed by the Southern Poverty-of-Law Center.
Agreed. Armed resistance would be a truly epic fail. I don't think much of Ghandi, but he and his progeny had it right . . . it's hopeless until the soldiers must vote with their souls, a la Tiananmen Square, etc.
The Fed's argument that "it could withhold the information under an exemption that allows federal agencies to refuse disclosure of 'trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential'” is ridiculous on its face. It is NOT a federal agency, and it's time for the courts to stop pretending otherwise.
+100
OTOH, though, that would make the Fed not subject to FOIA, right? It's a Catch 22.
It would be good to hear a Court rule sanely wrt legitimacy of the fundamental claim, though.
The Fed must be hiding something VERY BIG.
Makes you wonder just what it is that they are hiding or protecting.
I do believe as another poster that they are protecting themselves from something indefensable. Something that really would put an end to the FED.
Something big!? Like all the gold in Ft Knox gone? Or that the USA did in fact create tungsten gold. Or that Mrs Clinton gave China some of our country as collateral? Whats your guess?
Well if the collateral is NY, NJ, California, and Massachusetts, then that's something that I could live with.
It's a win-win for all. We settle our debts, rid ourselves of those mutant colonies, China gets paid, and the residents of those states get to enjoy greater freedom than they presently have.
We'd have to insist that ZH'ers and other rational, freedom-loving, independent thinking folks in those states would have an opportunity to emigrate over to Flyover Land though. There's still a lot of good folks trapped in those regimes. Ohh, Illinois too. China can keep Barry once his one term is up.
There are 2 levels of appellate courts before the Supreme Court would even consider whether to grant leave.
If the Fed decides to go the Court route, we will be on marstian bailout #3 by the time the Supreme Court ever ruled on this matter.
One wonders what wold be the fall out if Congress did decide to change this law to allow the Fed to maintain the secrecy it so desires (so it can bailout wall street in perpetuity) at this critical T-6 months to mid-term elections.
The time issue was what stood out to me as well. Given that the appeals leading to SCOTUS would take years (assuming optimistically that the Fed continued losing), Congress wouldn't need to even talk about it until long after the next presidential election.
Hi Lizzy,
What levels of appellate courts are between the 2nd circuit and SCOTUS?
District court for southern NY grants judgment on FOIA lawsuit in Bloomberg's favor. So the FED appeals to 2nd circuit and the 2nd circuit upholds. Isn't the next stop SCOTUS?
The fed can petition for the full circuit to hear the case first. Regardless, the 2d should be done with it fairly quickly. I suspect that the fed will seek relief so they may well file for consideration during the 10-11 term. We'll see... I must admit to a desire to see the SCOTUS refuse the case, without comment... Ya, I know..
Every banker in this country is shaking in their boots--I wish.
We all want that Miles. Ya, I know too.
The Credit River decision is a classic precedent for what happens to judges that defy the will of the elite people.
The record of people that just "die" after taking on the FED is rather incredible, isn't it.
First the Fed will ask for an en banc hearing...they'll need enough judges to agree to rehear it and disagree with the panel's decision.
If that is denied or the entire bench affirms, then a Justice would have to grant cert and the matter would be placed on the SCOTUS docket
THIS...You would never see this in the MSM
The 2d reminds the fed of the responsibilities inherent in our do, check & review form of government and how it is supposed to function.
B.I.N.G.O.
Au revoir FOIA.
well the Fed is about to become a PERSON, under the current ruling of SCOTUS, which granted this Constitutional Right to corporaations and labor unions. Ergo their right to privacy is secured. later on i hope to expound on the current Supreme Court dilemma, and how a weak kneed presidental wannabe could use it to act preemptively in matter s of foreign policy, if he thought a lot of Congressional debate would jeopardize the security of the nation. this is of course how we got to such enhanced executive branch powers, as it was popularly thought that if the Russians were to say launch some missiles there would be no time to convene Congress.
in the near futures every organization will have the same Constituional right individuals used to have. stay tuned
I was contemplating incorporating my person so that I could have the best of both worlds:
Full rights of citizenship and immunity from criminal prosecution.
Just like "corporate peoples"!
That's Awzome. So the Fed can contribute unlimited amounts to Congressional campaigns too!!!
A_W_Z_O_M_E
the fed already did! this is why Ron Paul wants to audit the Fed, he wants to reveal their involvement in Watergate, and covert activities such as iran/contra. it's entirely likely that even if he acquires documents they will be seriously redacted, for security reasons. national security has already been suggested as a defense against the FOIA, although there is a statute of limitations. Once the fed's authority is reduced, or the fed is officially insolvent, the president will recreate the agency within the Treasury, subject to some congressional oversight probably. concurrent with that we will see some serious constraints on private credit expansion, as this is what really drives the money supply guys crazy, or at least some control over how credit is monetized, which is to say government will have more control over how much capital is created and who gets it. consumer credit is okay, which doesn't leverage out. consumerism is good for wall street and the current corporate business model, and bad for small business, (but hey who likes competition?) anyway i wanted to talk about Libertarianism, its growing appeal, and the threat to the system.
The FED is one of your Tyler Durdens.
They dress like you want to dress.
They f%%k like you want to f&&k.
They steal, rape, kill, maim, and give the finger like you want to.
They run the world.
So...you are waiting for what?
They will be that area of your life, unless you want to take responsibility back for what they are and run that part of your life the way you want to.
>>>>Achieve<<<<
and then they will be irrelevant for you.
Benny and the Inkjets ought to become the centerpiece of the November elections. Someone ought to be able to "sex up" the $2 Trillion Benny and the Banksters stole from the American people. "Systemic failure" equals my friends have run out of OPM, so let's rob the Neighbors.
I think, and I hope that ZH is chipping away at the (weak) foundation of this financial sleeze, thereby providing readers with the intellectual power, righteousness, and tools to bring down this outrageous theft.
Benny and the Inkjets are truly on the horns or a dilemma. If they abandon the appeal, the monstrous truth will topple them and their thieving ilk, but if they become the centerpiece of the November election, the pressure to kick down the doors of this Authoritarian Money Monster will be insurmountable.
Madoff will look like a piker compared to the Board Members at the Fed.
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