Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren grilled Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the next Federal Reserve chair over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, but Kevin Warsh refused to answer her directly.
The top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee accused Warsh of having more than $100 million in investments, for which he has not disclosed specific details to ethics officials or the public, as he seeks to become the next head of the U.S. central bank.
“Do the Juggernaut Fund or the THSDFS LLC invest in any companies affiliated with President Trump or his family, companies that have facilitated money laundering, Chinese-controlled companies, or financing vehicles established by Jeffrey Epstein?” Warren asked at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
Warsh did not answer her question directly but instead started to talk about the role of the Fed and broader ethics scandals Warren had previously referenced.
“Will you answer my question, please?” Warren cut him off.
“I asked, you have $100 million in undisclosed assets, and what I’m asking is, are any of those with this outfit that invests in companies affiliated with President Trump or his family, companies that have facilitated money laundering, Chinese-controlled companies, or financing vehicles set up by Jeffrey Epstein? It’s a yes or no question,” Warren repeated.
“Senator, I have worked tirelessly with the ethics officials at the Office of Government Ethics,” Warsh tried again, but Warren wasn’t having it.
“Yes, and you have not revealed a $100 million in assets,” Warren could be heard saying as they spoke over each other.
At the same time, Warsh insisted that he worked to come to an ethics agreement with them to “sell all of my financial assets, including the Duquesne assets.”
The mention of the pedophile came after Warsh was mentioned in the Epstein files released in January by the Justice Department. Emails sent to or from an account associated with Epstein indicate that Warsh and his wife, Jane Lauder, were invited to events Epstein helped organize. It was unclear who all attended the events.
But Warsh avoided sharing any investments tied to Epstein as he was grilled on Tuesday. Warren pointed out again that he was not directly answering her.
“Mr. Warsh, are you refusing to tell us if you have investments in, for example, vehicles set up to advance Jeffrey Epstein? Is that what you’re telling us?” Warren repeated, focusing on the late convicted sex offender. “You just won’t tell us?”
“Senator, what I’m telling you is that those assets that you represent as Juggernaut will be sold if I’m confirmed before I take office and sign the oath of office,” Warsh said about the hedge fund.
Warren questioned whether he would even disclose how he planned to sell the secret assets, as it would raise questions if buyers were cutting the Fed nominee massive checks.
Warsh fired back that Warren’s fight might not be with him but with the Office of Government Ethics, which he is in “full agreement” with, to divest his assets.
“Will you disclose how you divest those assets or will you just collect a check for $100 million from someone whose whole business is betting on what the Fed will do?” Warren kept going.
He simply reiterated that he would be “redeeming” his assets before taking office.
Warsh’s evasive responses did not stop there during his hours of grilling on the hill on Tuesday as he tried to avoid answering any questions that might upset Donald Trump, another known Epstein associate.
He would not say who won the 2020 election when Warren asked. During the hearing, he also sidestepped saying where he has any area of disagreement with the president, despite being pressured, and instead eventually offered a copout by claiming he was not on the same page with Trump’s assessment about him being out of “central casting.”
Later, he refused to give the U.S. economy a letter grade. In response to Sen. Raphael Warnock’s question, he dodged with a bizarre non-answer about giving all his students A’s.
Warsh would also not commit to defending Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, as his predecessor did after Trump tried to fire her. He insisted the Fed should “stay in its lane.” He said the case was pending before the Supreme Court and said it was “inappropriate” for him to weigh in.
