The federal government has been weaponized against Americans. Now Republicans are calling foul.
And Jim Jordan exposed this sinister plot targeting Trump supporters.
According to documents obtained by the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, federal officials urged banks to search customer data for phrases such as “TRUMP” or “MAGA” in transactions.
The discoveries came as House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) stated that he had requested an interview with Noah Bishoff, the former head of the Office of Stakeholder Integration and Engagement in the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) Strategic Operations Division.
“We now know the federal government flagged terms like ‘MAGA’ and ‘TRUMP,’ to financial institutions if Americans completed transactions using those terms,” Jordan said.
“What was also flagged? If you bought a religious text, like a BIBLE, or shopped at Bass Pro Shop.”
FinCEN reportedly ordered banks to assist federal law enforcement in identifying transactions involving individuals of interest using particular typologies and Merchant Category Codes after January 6, 2021.
According to Jordan, FinCEN provided the banks with paperwork on various typologies as well as search phrase suggestions.
“These materials included a document recommending the use of generic terms like ‘TRUMP’ and ‘MAGA’ to ‘search Zelle payment messages’ as well as a ‘prior FinCEN analysis’ of ‘Lone Actor/Homegrown Violent Extremism Indicators,’” Jordan wrote.
“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 to 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 urged 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 went on to say.
The letter also stated that the feds had detected other transaction keywords such as “Cabela’s” and “Dick’s Sporting Goods.”
So Americans who shop at sporting goods stores are a threat to our country?
Jordan noted it was likely due to these stores selling firearms.
“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.”
“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 civil liberties,” Jordan wrote.
The letter requests Bishoff to be prepared to talk with Congress regarding FinCEN’s safeguards for constitutional liberties, the government’s use of private financial information, and FinCEN-private sector coordination.
Jordan also wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray, requesting an interview with FBI official Peter Sullivan, citing testimony that the FBI had requested information from Bank of America on “ANY historical purchase” of a gun six months before January 6, 2021, of anyone who had been in Washington, D.C., around January 6.
At the end of the day, is this any information the federal government should have access to?
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
