Chair Powell presents the Monetary Policy Report on February 12, 2020. Photo by James Fishback, founder and CEO of Azoria, has renewed his public challenge on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during an interview Friday night with Anthony Pompliano.
According to Pompliano’s show, James made that comment after filing a federal lawsuit on Thursday morning in Washington D.C., demanding that the Fed stop holding its FOMC meetings behind closed doors.
He’s specifically challenging the Fed under the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 and wants next week’s meeting livestreamed for public access.
The judge assigned to the case, Barl Howard, appointed by Barack Obama, granted an emergency hearing set for Monday, just a day before the FOMC is scheduled to begin its two-day session.
The lawsuit, Azoria v. Powell, calls for a Temporary Restraining Order that would block Tuesday’s meeting unless the Fed opens it to the public. “They’re violating federal law and operating in secrecy,” James said.
“We want the American people to see and hear how these decisions are made, because they’re paying the price for them.” James added that the law clearly states any federal body with a multi-member decision-making committee must conduct its business in public.
That includes the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rates eight times per year and affects everything from mortgages to credit cards.
Fishback challenges Fed’s legal defense and secrecy
During the interview, James dismantled the Fed’s legal argument that the Sunshine Act doesn’t apply to the FOMC because it’s just a “subdivision” of the central bank. “They admit the Fed is covered by the law,” he said. “So how can the most powerful part of the institution, the one that sets rates, not be covered too?”
He called it a “fake carve-out” designed to avoid transparency. James also rejected the Fed’s claim that public meetings would trigger financial speculation.
“You can’t hide every meeting for 50 years using the same excuse. That’s not a legal exemption, that’s a loophole.” James said that if speculation was the concern, Powell wouldn’t give interviews or release minutes.
“In January 2022, Powell told reporters there wouldn’t be a rate hike in the next meeting. If that’s not fueling speculation, I don’t know what is. Most TTROs get tossed without a hearing. The fact that Judge Howard wants to hear from Powell’s lawyers on Monday is a big deal.”
Lawsuit could change how rate decisions are analyzed
James warned that the market isn’t ready. “Wall Street’s still asleep. They don’t think this will happen. They have no idea what’s coming.” If the judge grants the restraining order, James believes the Fed will delay the meeting by a few hours and announce a livestream. “They’ll have no choice. It’s a really bad look to defy a federal judge on transparency.”
He also slammed the ongoing renovation of the Fed’s building in D.C. as “unnecessary and taxpayer-funded.” He said those same taxpayers should be able to see what’s going on inside. “The people paying for this have no idea what’s happening. That’s the problem.”
James said that if the livestream happens, it will completely change how the markets react. “Right now, everyone waits for the press conference on Wednesday. They guess based on Powell’s tie color, how long he talks, what words he uses.”
He said with public access, the volatility will shift to Tuesday, when viewers can watch the decision-making live. “We’ll see who speaks up. Who objects. Who brings the real data and who’s just phoning it in.”
He expects to see clear political bias from some committee members and said the livestream would expose it. “You won’t hear someone say, ‘Trump said this so I’ll do that.’ But you will see subtle bias in how they respond to inflation or tariffs. And that’s what we need to see.”
James also mentioned that Governor Chris Waller is expected to dissent at the meeting. “Usually, you’d just see his name at the bottom of the statement. But if this is public, we’ll hear why he dissents and who pushes back against him.”
He said seeing that back-and-forth in real time would be the most important shift in how the Fed is understood. “Right now, it’s a black box. We’re flying blind.”
