House Committee Will Interview Fed Staffer on Leak Probe, Chairman Says

        By Kate Davidson
        A House panel has lined up "a number" of interviews with Federal Reserve staffers related to the possible leak of confidential information from a 2012 Fed policy meeting, the panel's chairman said in an interview.
        House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas) said the Fed has no legal basis for refusing to comply fully with a subpoena from the committee on the leak probe. He also argued the Fed has no grounds to invoke "executive privilege," the authority claimed by the president or other executive branch agencies to avoid releasing certain information.
        "They are violating the law at the moment," Mr. Hensarling said.
        Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen has said turning over the information at this time could interfere with an ongoing criminal probe of the matter. She said the Fed intends to cooperate as soon as its inspector general, which is conducting the criminal probe with the Justice Department, indicates that doing so won't compromise their investigation.
        Ms. Yellen did, however, provide the names of Fed staffers who had contact with the policy information service firm that published the information.
        "We do have transcribed interviews with a number of witnesses that are lined up, but we haven't quite seen eye-to-eye on the production of documents," Mr. Hensarling said, adding that he is trying "to be respectful" and work with the central bank.
        Asked if the committee may move to hold the Fed chairwoman in contempt--the next step in the process--Mr. Hensarling declined to say.
        "We want the chair to tell the truth," he said. "We want the Federal Reserve to produce the documents they are legally obligated to produce."
        The dispute over the documents has added to tension in recent months between the Fed and Congress, and fueled a perception among lawmakers and Hill staff that the Fed is unresponsive.
        The leak probe is likely to be at forefront of questions facing Ms. Yellen on Wednesday when she appears before Mr. Hensarling's committee for her semiannual monetary policy testimony.
        Mr. Hensarling said it's too early to know whether lawmakers may respond to the breach with new legislation to address their concerns. But he emphasized it is Congress's responsibility to conduct an oversight investigation into the matter.
        "Somebody has to be held accountable," he said. "It was an incredibly serious breach."
        Related reading:
        Janet Yellen's Fed Flounders in Political Arena
        Key House Lawmaker Sends Subpoena to Fed Over 2012 Leak
        Yellen: Fed Was Advised Against Fully Complying With Subpoena on Leak Probe
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        July 13, 2015 13:00 ET (17:00 GMT)

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