SPYGATE TWO: Fed Govt Exposed For Asking Banks To Spy On Transactions Of MAGA, Religious ‘Extremists’

On Wednesday, the federal government was exposed by an exclusive Fox News report asking banks to search, filter, and look at transactions of "extremist" customers who use terms like "MAGA," "Trump," and those who are religious. As part of the House Judiciary Committee's oversight of federal law enforcement, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) obtained documents that indicted the federal government provided banks with documents on "various persons of interest" that have used terms like "MAGA" and "Trump" and requested the search of their "Zelle payment messages" and more financial information.

According to the report, despite no legal process taking place, Bank of America provided the FBI with a list of individuals who had transactions in Washington, D.C., from January 5 through January 7, 2021. In a letter to the former director of Strategic Operations of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Noah Bishoff, Jim Jordan writes, "According to this analysis, FinCEN warned financial institutions of 'extremism' indicators that include 'transportation charges, such as bus tickets, rental cars, or plane tickets, for travel areas with no apparent purpose,' or 'the purchase of books (including religious texts) and subscriptions to other media containing extremist views."

"In other words, FinCEN used large financial institutions to comb through the private transactions of their customers for suspicious charges on the basis of protected political and religious expression," Jordan added.

"Despite these transactions having no apparent criminal nexus — and, in fact, relate to Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights — FinCEN seems to have adopted a characterization of these Americans as potential threat actors," Jordan continued. "This kind of pervasive financial surveillance, carried out in coordination with and at the request of federal law enforcement, into Americans' private transactions is alarming and raises serious doubts about FinCEN's respect for fundamental liberties."

Fox News clarified that "none of the documents the committee has obtained reveal any specific time frames or limitations for banks searching customer transactions with the terms. The source said the federal government used the information for investigations beyond January 6."

Jordan has requested that the senior private sector partner for outreach in the Strategic Partner Engagement Section at the FBI, Peter Sullivan, be made available for a recorded and transcribed interview on January 31 to help "inform the Committee and Select Subcommittee about the FBI's mass accumulation and use of Americans' private information without legal process; the FBI's protocols, if any, to safeguard Americans' privacy and constitutional rights in the receipt and use of such information; and the FBI's general engagement with the private sector on law-enforcement matters."

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