Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Wednesday that federal investigators are asking financial institutions to use terms such as “TRUMP” and “MAGA” when reviewing customer data in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. It was revealed that they had requested that the search terms be used.
The request came from the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), according to documents obtained by the House Select Subcommittee on Federal Weaponization.
The committee led by Mr. Jordan is investigating the government as part of an investigation that the Ohio Republican called an “alarming” case of “pervasive financial surveillance” that appears to have been carried out “on protected political grounds.” Noah Bischoff, the agency's former director of strategic operations, was requested to testify. ” speech.
“The Committee and the Select Subcommittee are pleased to announce that, beginning January 6, 2021, FinCEN will publish a document outlining various stakeholder “typologies'' and providing financial institutions with recommended search terms and merchant categories. We obtained documents showing that it was distributed to institutions.Transaction Identification Code (MCC) on behalf of federal law enforcement agencies,” Jordan said. wrote in a letter To Bischoff.
“These materials included documents recommending the use of generic terms such as 'TRUMP' and 'MAGA' to 'search for Zelle payment messages,'” he noted.
According to Jordan, FinCEN also provides analysis of “lone-actor/domestic-origin violent extremism indicators” to financial institutions assisting the government in finding suspects involved in the Capitol riot. Indicators of “extremism'' include “bus tickets, rental cars or airline tickets for travel to areas with no clear purpose,'' or “purchases of books (including religious texts) or other items containing extremist views.'' 's media subscriptions.'
“In other words, FinCEN has asked major financial institutions to scrutinize their customers' personal transactions for suspicious charges based on protected political or religious expression,” Jordan argued in the letter.
The lawmaker also accused FinCEN of distributing slides explaining how financial institutions can flag customers who fit the profile of a “potential shooter” or terrorist based on their transactions.
The slide instructs financial institutions to search for terms such as “small arms,” ”Cabela's,” and “Dick's Sporting Goods.”
“Even though these transactions have no clear criminal nexus and are, in fact, related to Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights, FinCEN is appears to have adopted characterization as a potential threat actor,” Jordan wrote.
in another letter In a letter sent Wednesday, the committee chair also asked FBI Director Christopher Wray to provide the bureau's Strategic Partner Engagement Section with transcripts of interviews related to Bank of America's cooperation with the FBI since January 6. We requested that senior officials participate.
Jordan is interrogating FBI agent Peter Sullivan about the agency's “massive accumulation and use of Americans' private information without legal process.” The FBI's protocols, if any, to protect the privacy and constitutional rights of Americans in the receipt and use of such information. and the FBI's general engagement with the private sector on law enforcement matters. ”
Jordan said that at the request of the FBI, the nation's second-largest bank intercepted information about people who made certain purchases in and around Washington “on its own initiative and without any legal process” before and after the riot. accused of having done so.
He said Sullivan provided Bank of America with specific search terms to search for when examining customer data, including purchases of firearms, hotels, Airbnb, and airline tickets since January 6, 2021. He said he provided it.
FOX News reported in February 2021 that Bank of America handed over information on 211 people to the FBI. Only one of the 211 people was brought in for questioning.
No one has been arrested, the media reported.
