Rand Paul Responds to Politico 'Hit Piece' Criticizing His Position on the Fed

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R) appeared on Glenn Beck's radio program Thursday to respond to what Beck called a "hit piece" in Politico criticizing the senator's push to audit the Federal Reserve.

"They bring up a lot of points that somebody like me looks at and says, 'Well, gee, that kind of makes sense. What's Rand talking about?' So let's go over these point by point," Beck told the senator. "The article says the [Federal Reserve's] finances are already subject to an audit by the GAO, the Government Accountability Office, the Federal Inspector General and outside audit firms."

Paul suggested Beck watch a "really great exchange" where a congressman asked the Federal Reserve auditor during a committee hearing what was purchased with around $2 trillion. The auditor said they were "not allowed" to audit Federal Reserve bank activities.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., talks with delegates during the Iowa State Republican Convention, Saturday, June 14, 2014, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

"I don't think that's a real audit," Paul said. "We have a bunch of fake audits, and the fake audits don't reveal any of the information we want to know. We want to know, who are they buying the stuff from? What are they paying for it? Are they paying a fair market rate, or because it's someone's brother-in-law, are they actually paying more for something than it's actually worth?"

"We don't know any of that so we don't really have an audit," Paul continued. "It's appalling that something Congress created is such an enormous creature, a creature that creates its own money is now lobbying government. They should be forbidden from lobbying government and forbidden from trying to influence legislation. I think it's appalling that they're trying to stop any oversight of the Federal Reserve."

Beck countered that in the Politico article it reads: "Those interested in what’s on the Fed’s balance sheet can find out, down to the individual bond, on the website of the New York Federal Reserve."

"I think that that's true and untrue at the same time," Paul responded. "There are lists of what their assets are, but they aren't individualized. You can't tell who they bought them from or whether they were bought at fair market price or whether they were bought at a haircut and whether or not there were any conflicts of interests in the buying and selling."

The senator said it is "very concerning" how much the Federal Reserve will not disclose, and his push to audit the institution now has overwhelming bipartisan support.

"Now the Fed has got an all-out onslaught and push against this," Paul said. "And it should worry people that an individual bank that has the monopoly privilege granted to it by Congress is able to print up money to lobby against legislation that would cause more oversight. That should worry all of us."

You can watch's Beck's complete interview with Senator Paul below.

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