The Federal Reserve did not help the Watergate burglars get cash, stonewall congressional inquiries in the 1970s political scandal or help Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein get a $5.5 billion loan to purchase weapons in the 1980s, the agency's inspector general said in a report posted on the Fed's website on Tuesday.

The release touches on subjects seldom associated with the U.S. central bank. It comes after an inquiry that grew out of allegations made by U.S. Representative Ron Paul, a Fed critic and Republican presidential candidate, at a congressional hearing in February 2010.