WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Rick Scott and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, expressing deep concerns regarding the lack of accountability for Federal Reserve officials involved in improper trading and other violations of Fed ethics rules. This letter follows a September report by the Federal Reserve Inspector General (Fed IG) identifying hundreds of improper trades by Dr. Raphael Bostic, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, who has yet to be held accountable by Chair Powell.

The senators wrote, “[T]here has been no public indication that you have held Dr. Bostic accountable for his illicit trades. Given our concerns about the culture of corruption that has arisen at the Fed while you have been Chair, we again urge you to adopt a stronger ethics policy and take all appropriate measures to hold Fed officials accountable for violations of key Fed ethics rules and the public trust.”

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“You allowed this culture of corruption to flourish, and were far too slow to put rules in place to address it. When you did establish these rules, they were inadequate. And now it appears that you are refusing to enforce them. These failures represent a stain on your record as Fed Chair, and have damaged the integrity and effectiveness of the Federal Reserve.”

The IG’s Bostic report is just the latest revelation in a series of ethics scandals in which Fed officials–including Chair Powell–engaged in trades that violated the Fed’s rules and betrayed the public’s trust. These infractions, the senators highlighted, raise serious questions about the integrity of the Federal Reserve and contribute to a troubling culture of corruption that has emerged under Powell's leadership.

The senators provided Chairman Powell with a list of questions to respond to and reiterated their call for a stronger ethics policy to restore public trust in the Federal Reserve. Read the full letter HERE.

Read more about Senator Scott’s efforts for accountability at the Fed in his recent Fox News op-ed titled America can return to fiscal sanity with strong Federal Reserve leadership and Trump back in the White House.

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