Treasury Department has at least contemplated gold swaps

7p ET Saturday, June 20, 2008

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

After seven months, the U.S. Treasury Department this week answered GATA's request for access to any records of the department involving gold swaps. While Treasury, like the Federal Reserve, is refusing to disclose any relevant records, the department's answer, like the Fed's in April, does reveal something of interest: that Treasury has at least contemplated gold swaps, as signified in documents considered exempt from disclosure as "predecisional deliberative material."

The Fed's answer confirmed that the Fed does have secrets about the U.S. gold reserve, apparently involving private businesses, possibly investment houses that have borrowed and sold U.S. government or Western central bank gold. You can find the Fed's answer here:

http://www.gata.org/files/FedResponseToGATA04-09-2008.pdf

It's not clear whether, in answering GATA, the Treasury Department is also answering for the U.S. Exchange Stabilization Fund, an agency controlled by the president and the secretary of the treasury whose main purpose is currency market intervention and which is exempted by federal law from any accountability to the public and even Congress. (Public accountability can get in the way of market manipulation.) GATA hopes to clarify with the Treasury Department whether it is also answering for the ESF.

You can find the Treasury Department's reply to GATA here:

http://www.gata.org/files/TreasuryResponse06-18-2008.pdf

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

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