The Fed continues opposing transparency

On September 29, 2008, the US Congress passed the $700 billion bailout.

By the spring of 2009, the Federal Reserve had issued its own "private" bailouts in excess of $2 trillion... along with another $8 trillion in so-called "guarantees."

On April 2, the Senate Banking Chairman (Chris Dodd) explicitly voted against revealing the names of the banks that got the Fed's $2.2 trillion bailout.

On May 6, the Senate Banking Chairman promised FireDogLake's Jane Hamsher that he would ask the Fed Chairman (Ben Bernanke) for the names of the banks that got his $2.2 trillion in bailouts.

On August 24, since Chris Dodd had not yet gotten the names of the banks that got Fed bailouts, Bloomberg News proceeded with their December 2008 lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act. And they got US District Judge Loretta Preska to direct the Obama's Fed Chairman to release the names of the banks by August 31.

By August 31, President Transparency's Fed Chairman had appealed Judge Preska's ruling and was given until Sept 30 to appeal the order to release the names of the banks that got the $2.2 trillion in Fed bailouts.

Today, the Fed appealed.

No word yet on a deadline for when the appeals court will have a decision.

I applaud Mark Pittman and Bloomberg News for hounding "the most transparent administration in history" until they cough up the goods.

Tim White