Aggregated Awareness

From GATA comes this sole report on the recent US House Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology hearing into the US Gold Reserves, and whether or not any of it is encumbered (owned by another party) by any other entity, such as the IMF, and other counterparties.

Quite a few interesting exchanges ensues, with no definitive or authoritative answer being provided to the questions being posed by the sub-committee members.

Quote:

"...Paul opened the hearing with an excellent statement about the secrecy that long has enveloped the U.S. gold reserve, the speculation that U.S. gold has been swapped with foreign central banks or sold, and the inability to arrange a congressional inspection of the gold reserve at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Paul particularly distinguished between ownership of gold reserves and mere custody of them. He complained that the Treasury Department had not released certain information about the gold reserve until his legislation to audit it was filed.

The Treasury Department's inspector general, Eric M. Thorson, replied that Treasury audits the gold regularly, and he denounced those who raise doubts about the reserve.

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Missouri, noted that the audit documentation submitted to the committee by the Treasury mentioned nothing about encumbrances of the gold reserve, and Thorson replied, "I'm not aware of anything." But Thorson backed off when Luetkemeyer followed up by asking about the U.S. gold pledged to the IMF and when Paul asked if the IMF's supposed gold is being counted twice, once on the IMF's own books and again on the books of the United States and other IMF member nations..."

Source...