The recently viral "Devil's Deal" document circulating online indeed appears to be riddled with issues, but the real focus behind its sudden explosion of market sentiment is what truly matters — everyone is worried about whether the Federal Reserve's independence still exists.

Rather than getting entangled in that flawed document, it’s better to look at the ongoing internal scandals involving the Federal Reserve over the past two years. Atlanta Fed President Bostic recently admitted that he violated securities trading disclosure requirements more than 150 times in five years, many of which occurred during the Fed's silent periods. His explanation was "misunderstanding the disclosure rules," after which he handed over his assets to a third party for management.

Sounds like an isolated case? Far from it. By 2021, multiple Fed officials were exposed for abnormal trading activities, which directly led to the early departure of Dallas Fed President Kaplan and Boston Fed President Rosengren. Their exits highlight the seriousness of the issues.

In February 2022, the Federal Reserve was forced to introduce the "strictest new regulations," explicitly banning officials from purchasing stocks, funds, bonds, and other assets. The rules seem strict, but in practice, there’s always room for flexibility. Bostic’s "negligence," from a certain perspective, may be a reflection of this very flexibility in enforcement.

The problem is, each of these ongoing trading scandals deepens market anxiety: Is the Federal Reserve’s decision-making truly independent of personal interests? When the public begins to doubt this, even a flawed document or a minor incident can shatter market confidence.