Ron Paul Says There Might Not Be Any Gold at Fort Knox or NY Federal Reserve Bank

Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) said that next year, he plans to introduce legislation to force an audit of United States' holdings of gold. A long-time critic of U.S. monetary policy and the Federal Reserve, Paul said that he thinks that it is "a possibility" that there may not actually be any gold in the vaults of Fort Knox or the New York Federal Reserve bank.

Paul says that an audit is necessary to determine how much the United States maintains in gold reserves in case the government were to use gold to back the dollar.

Speaking with Kitco News, a website that tracks news about precious metals, Paul said:

“If there was no question about the gold being there, you think they would be anxious to prove gold is there.

Our Federal Reserve admits to nothing, and they should prove all the gold is there. There is a reason to be suspicious and even if you are not suspicious why wouldn’t you have an audit?"

When asked if there were truth to the rumors that there was actually no gold at Fort Knox or the NY Fed, Paul said:

“I think it is a possibility."

Paul's new bill would audit the gold reserves, which is typically seen as a guarantee on the country's currency. In 1972, however, the US moved the dollar away from being tied to the price of gold.

While not coming right out and asking for the reinstitution of the gold standard, Paul did call for the government to allow the use of hard currency (Gold and Silver tender) along with use of the dollar.