In a recent Twitter post Libertarian firebrand Rep. Ron Paul wrote: "In a free society, we are supposed to know the truth," he wrote. "In a society where truth becomes treason, we are in big trouble."
Congressman Ron Paul on the presidential campaign trail in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 01/10/08. (photo: Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
07 December 10
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Also See:
WikiLeaks' Twitter Page: http://twitter.com/wikileaks
WikiLeaks' Support Page: http://wikileaks.ch/support.html
Lieberman Attacks New York Times Over WikiLeaks Documents: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-joe-lieberman-new-york-times-investigated
exas Republican Congressman Ron Paul is no stranger to breaking with his party, but in a recent television appearance the libertarian-leaning Rep. went even further than any member of Congress in defending whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
Speaking to Fox Business host Judge Napolitano on Thursday about recent revelations at the Federal Reserve, Paul's typical candor showed through.
"What we need is more WikiLeaks about the Federal Reserve," he said. "Can you imagine what it'd be like if we had every conversation in the last 10 years with our Federal Reserve people, the Federal Reserve chairman, with all the central bankers of the world and every agreement or quid-pro-quo they have? It would be massive. People would be so outraged."
Paul, a longtime critic of the US Federal Reserve, is the incoming chairman of a House subcommittee on monetary policy. His most recent book, titled "End the Fed," takes aim at central banks the world over, blaming fiat money systems and fractional reserve banking for the world's increasingly volatile economies.
"In a free society we're supposed to know the truth," Paul insisted. "In a society where truth becomes treason, then we're in big trouble. And now, people who are revealing the truth are getting into trouble for it.
He added: "This whole notion that Assange, who's an Australian, that we want to prosecute him for treason - I mean, aren't they jumping to a wild conclusion? [...] I mean, why don't we prosecute The New York Times or anybody that releases this?"
The Texas congressman echoed his message from Fox Business in a twitter post early Friday.
"In a free society, we are supposed to know the truth," he wrote. "In a society where truth becomes treason, we are in big trouble."
Many Republicans have called for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, an Australian, to be prosecuted under the US Espionage Act, or for his site to be deemed a "foreign terrorist organization." The Department of Justice said it was looking into who leaked the massive caches of documents to Assange and whether or not he could be prosecuted.
The site experienced a series of domain take-downs by mid-day Friday, but was back online via an IP address, with mirrors popping up across Europe.
Data released by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday showed that foreign banks were among the biggest recipients of some $3.3 trillion in emergency loans offered by the US central bank amid the 2008 financial crisis.
More than $290 billion worth of mortgage securities were sold to Deutsche Bank, a German lender. Credit Suisse, a Swiss bank, got more than $287 billion in mortgage bonds. Corporations like Caterpillar, General Electric, Harley Davidson, McDonald's, Verizon and Toyota also relied the programs.
