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Newly released documents from inside the US government confirm the existence of high-level legal discussions on whether the Treasury Department can and should create a trillion-dollar platinum coin.
The idea for such a coin has been floated in various circles for years as a way to give the US additional funds without having to borrow more money, hypothetically avoiding potential defaults and perpetual debt ceiling drama.
Four heavily-redacted documents from the U.S. Justice Department totaling 38 pages have been made public, revealing internal legal discussions from 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023 about the coin.
The documents show the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has engaged in multiple discussions about the legal authority to mint the coin, with various views on debt ceiling strategies emerging through the years.
A 2013 document entitled, “Authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to Issue a Large Denomination Platinum Coin” featured preliminary research and tentative conclusions that remain secret.
A 2015 document summarizing oral advice given to Treasury officials on debt ceiling strategies has also been released, largely redacted, showing advice was given around the time the trillion-dollar coin idea resurfaced in the media.
And a cover sheet dated May 16th, 2023, for a 2021 memo, contains 26 pages of research on the debt limit, noting “evolving” legal thinking on the issue, although once again most details are redacted. Leopold says he will keep pushing for more definitive answers.
“That’s a tantalizing detail. What does ‘evolve’ mean in this context? Does the office believe Treasury has the legal authority to mint platinum coins?
Does it think the president can invoke the 14th Amendment if Congress fails to act on raising the debt ceiling? Or did the Office of Legal Counsel conclude that both propositions weren’t on solid legal ground? We just don’t know.”
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