Warren Presses Druckenmiller to Release Kevin Warsh from Confidentiality Agreements on Undisclosed $100 Million

Warren Presses Druckenmiller to Release Kevin Warsh from Confidentiality Agreements on Undisclosed $100 Million

Warren questions Druckenmiller on if he plans to buy out Warsh's stake in these funds

"Mr. Warsh's undisclosed assets pose an immediate problem: one or more of his dozens of funds and entities could hold stock in a prohibited financial institution, and the U.S. Senate and the public would never know."

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to Stanley Druckenmiller, Chairman and CEO of the Duquesne Family Office LLC (Duquesne), requesting that he release Kevin Warsh, President Trump's nominee for Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Fed), from any confidentiality agreements that Warsh claims prevent him from disclosing over $100 million in assets. In addition, Ranking Member Warren asked Mr. Druckenmiller if he plans to facilitate Mr. Warsh's divestiture of these assets by cashing out his investments in these funds, if he is ultimately confirmed.

"Mr. Warsh has refused to disclose over $100 million of his assets, citing pre-existing confidentiality agreements, that are owned and managed by you and entities you control. Releasing Mr. Warsh from these confidentiality agreements would allow him to fully disclose the sources of his wealth to the public-allowing the U.S. Senate to meaningfully examine his finances and potential conflicts of interest before the Senate votes on his nomination," wrote the Ranking Member.

"Members of the Federal Reserve…are forbidden from holding any 'stock in any bank, banking institution, or trust company,' as of their first day in office. Complete disclosure ahead of any votes on his nomination would allow the U.S. Senate to ensure that Mr. Warsh is in full compliance with this requirement," wrote the Ranking Member. "Yet, in his nomination paperwork filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE), Mr. Warsh asserts that he is unable to disclose the underlying assets of over sixty different financial entities due to 'pre-existing confidentiality obligations,' many of which appear to stem from his roles as an advisor and an investor in partnership with your investment firm."

Ranking Member Warren noted that there may be an undetermined period of time where the Chairman of the Federal Reserve has assets known to him but not to the American public, the U.S. Senate, or federal ethics officials.

Ranking Member Warren also raised concerns about Warsh's refusal to share with the public who is redeeming his shares in these funds and at what price - and what interests they may have in decisions made by the next Fed Chair. She pressed Mr. Druckemiller to answer if he will be the one cutting a check for Mr. Warsh. "Given that these investment funds are tied to your family office, it appears that you may be the one who will cash out Mr. Warsh," wrote Ranking Member Warren.

Ranking Member Warren requested Mr. Druckenmiller answer her questions ahead of Mr. Warsh's confirmation vote in the Senate.

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