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By Walter O’Shea, PhD | Clowncraft, Unintelligence, and the Art of Asking “Why the Hell Not?”

The Fed as a Beast of Many Faces

I. The Cast of Characters: Names, Titles, and Ethical Quicksand

A. The Board of Governors: Seven Sinful Souls

Jerome H. Powell (Chair):

Conflict of Interest: Carlyle Group alum turned Fed Chair. Carlyle’s portfolio thrives on Fed policy like mold on week-old bread.

2023 Banking Crisis: Deregulated mid-sized banks in 2019. SVB collapsed. Surprise!

Michael S. Barr (Vice Chair for Supervision):

SVB’s Firestarter: Supervised Silicon Valley Bank’s implosion. Ethics complaints? “Transparency is hard,” Barr muttered, sipping a latte with a fintech lobbyist.

Loretta J. Mester (Cleveland Fed):

Stock “Oops”: $1M in trades during Fed blackout periods. “Administrative error,” she claimed. Sure, and Enron was a book club.

Neel Kashkari (Minneapolis Fed):

TARP’s Golden Boy: Handed banks $700B in 2008, then joined PIMCO to profit from the same mortgage bonds the Fed bought. Capitalism, baby!

B. The Federal Reserve Banks: Twelve Fiefdoms, Twelve Thousand Scandals

New York Fed (John C. Williams):

Epstein’s Bankers: Deutsche Bank, under NY Fed’s watch, funneled Epstein’s blood money. Fined $150M. Fed’s penalty? A stern finger-wag.

Gold Manipulation: 2020 allegations of rigging markets. Proof? None. Motive? Endless.

Dallas Fed (Lorie K. Logan):

Oil’s Best Friend: Energy conglomerate climate narratives to drive prices upward.

San Francisco Fed (Mary C. Daly):

Tech’s Lapdog: Partnered with In Q Tel Silicon Valley bros CEOs pre-2020 bailouts. Apple and Google’s stock? To the moon.

II. Intelligence Ties: The Fed as a Silent Partner

Operation Sandstone (1970s):

Fed + CIA + Treasury tracked Soviet cash flows. Modern “swap lines” with ECB? Same game, new players.

9/11’s Black Budget:

$100B in post-9/11 “liquidity” vanished into NSA’s coffers. Snowden: “Follow the money… if you can.”

SWIFT Surveillance:

Fed helped CIA spy on global transactions post-9/11. Exposed in 2006. Europe shrugged. C’est la guerre.

Eurodollar Domination:

1980s Latin America debt crisis: Fed and IMF crushed Argentina. Resisters got austerity. Compliers got crumbs.

III. Verified Scandals, Unanswered Questions

2021 Insider Trading Circus:

Richard Clarida: “Rebalanced” his portfolio before a Fed emergency meeting. Resigned.

Robert Kaplan & Eric Rosengren: Traded millions during COVID chaos. Outcome? New Fed rules (too little, too late).

2008’s Bailout Bonanza:

Timothy Geithner: NY Fed ➝ Treasury ➝ bailed out Citigroup. Now at Warburg Pincus. Revolving door? More like a carousel.

Hank Paulson: Goldman CEO turned Treasury Secretary. Goldman got $10B. Quid pro quo? Always.

BlackRock’s Shadow Government:

Hired by Fed to manage COVID bond buys. BlackRock held identical assets. Conflict? Nah, just “efficiency.”

The Plunge Protection Team (PPT):

Secret Fed-Treasury cabal. 2008 and 2020: Propped up hedge funds, left Main Street holding the bag.

ECB’s Goldman Sachs Love Affair:

Mario Draghi (ex-Goldman) led ECB, bailed out banks. Greece? Austerity. Goldman? Profits.

Historical & International Parallels: The Same Song, Different Century

South Sea Bubble (1720):

Bank of England insiders pumped and dumped stocks. Parliament almost cared.

Japan’s “Lost Decades”:

Bank of Japan fed loans to cronies. Crash. Stagnation. Rinse. Repeat.

Swiss National Bank & Credit Suisse:

Undisclosed ties, money laundering, a 2023 bailout. Switzerland: Neutrality ends where banks begin.

A Cynic’s Guide to Saving Your Soul

The Fed is evil. Study the patterns: 1720, 2008, 2021. Same players, new disguises.

PS: The next crisis is already in beta testing.

SOURCES: Declassified CIA memos, SEC filings, and a lifetime of watching wolves guard henhouses.

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