Helpful Facts about the Fed - PublicEye.org
Facts: Yes, the Federal Reserve banks are privately owned, but they are controlled by the publically-appointed Board of Governors. The Federal Reserve banks merely execute the monetary policy choices made by the Board. In addition, nearly all the interest the Federal Reserve collects on government bonds is rebated to the Treasury each year, so the government does not pay any net interest to the Fed.
It is useful to have some actual facts in your quiver when dealing with bug-eyed Paulian “libertarians”. This page on PublicEye is full of useful information.