Exclusive: The top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee says the Treasury Department is urging private financial institutions to “monitor” private transactions by using “politically meaningful search terms” to report customer profiles to federal law enforcement. It is now seeking answers from the Treasury Department and its Financial Crimes Enforcement Division after it was revealed that the company had done so. .
Sen. Tim Scott (RS.C.) wrote a letter Friday to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and FinCEN Secretary Andrea Gucki. FOX News Digital exclusively reported in January 2021 that banks suggested using specific search terms when querying transactions. MAGA,” “Trump,” “Biden,” etc., as well as seller codes for specific sporting goods stores.
'Alarming' surveillance: Fed asks banks to search for private transactions for terms like 'MAGA' and 'Trump'
“I have used politically charged search terms to flag private financial institutions on behalf of specific customer profiles, as the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), “I am writing to address recent reports that have prompted me to monitor transaction-level data from “heads of federal law enforcement agencies,'' Scott wrote in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. “If true, these allegations represent a gross violation of American citizens' privacy and unfair targeting of Americans exercising their constitutional rights without due process.”
February 9: Sen. Tim Scott (RS.C.) arrives for a closed-door meeting with lawmakers and intelligence advisors on a China surveillance balloon at the Capitol in Washington, DC, Thursday, February 9, 2023. do. (Javin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Scott pointed to a Fox News Digital report that used keywords, search terms, and even store category codes to help law enforcement identify people of interest. It has been revealed that FinCEN provided financial institutions with instructions to search and filter their financial data. Weeks after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot and ahead of the January 20, 2021 Inauguration.
The terms and conditions were discovered as part of an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. The Commission found that MCC codes were used to query transactions such as “3484: Small Arms,” ”5091: Sports and Recreational Goods and Supplies,” and the keywords “Cabela's,” “Dick's Sporting Goods,” and “Bass Pro.” I have a document that shows this. “Shop” etc.
The House Judiciary Committee also stated that the Finn Center has ordered financial institutions to “purchase books (including religious texts)” such as the Bible and subscribe to certain media “containing extremist views” as “indicators of extremism.” We also obtained a document clarifying the warning.
Trump supporters occupy the west front and inauguration stands of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
“These allegations are particularly concerning given past efforts to weaponize the financial system and payments activities against politically disadvantageous legitimate activities,” Scott wrote. “Under the Obama administration's Operation Chokepoint initiative, the Department of Justice (DOJ) worked with federal financial regulators to blackmail financial institutions and legitimate businesses that the administration ideologically opposed, such as gun retailers. denied service to.”
“The weaponization and misuse of MCC codes is also not a new problem,” Scott said, adding that members of Congress have recently expressed “concerns about the potential for using MCC codes to monitor the free exercise of lawful activities.” , similar concerns are at issue.” here. ”
“The federal government's efforts to target individuals and groups based on their political views are blatant and flagrant violations of the Constitution,” Scott wrote. “Furthermore, these reported actions undermine confidence in federal law enforcement and raise serious questions regarding the independence of federal financial regulators.”
Thursday, October 12, 2023, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) leaves a Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Mr. Scott called on the Treasury Department and FinCEN to report that FinCEN had “an alleged role” in “gathering financial data from private companies” to help law enforcement identify targets since January 6. We request that you submit information regarding “if you do''.
Federal Reserve suggests banks search for transactions with terms like 'Biden' and 'Antifa' after January 6: Sources
Mr. Scott also asked whether anyone in any other executive branch agency, such as the Department of Justice or the FBI, ever directed, requested, or encouraged FinCEN to engage in any of these alleged activities.
Mr. Scott also asked on what basis FinCEN concluded that the purchase or possession of religious documents “could be indicative of extremism” and who at FinCEN made the decision to alert the bank to that possibility. I'm looking for answers.
Scott also provided a list of the financial institutions FinCEN met with when it proposed investigating transactions involving customers who shopped at Bass Pro Shops, Dick's Sporting Goods and Cabela's, as well as the government agencies involved in the decision. It also requested a list of all institutions. Search and filter those transactions.
This file image shows the facade of the Dick's Sporting Goods store at the Dulles Town Mall in Sterling, Virginia. (Google )
Scott asked the Treasury Department to provide that information by February 2nd.
Meanwhile, sources told Fox News Digital on Thursday that search terms like “MAGA” and “Trump” were generated by banks to identify suspicious transactions when reviewing customer transaction information. He said it was being used. It is unclear which bank generated the search terms.
FinCEN then shared these terms with other banks and helped them comply with their own suspicious activity reports, the sources said.
But beyond the terms identified by the House Judiciary Committee, the unnamed bank generated other terms that FinCEN shared with other banks, officials told FOX News Digital.
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Additional search terms include “white power,” “Camp Auschwitz,” “Antifa,” “Proud B,” “Storm the,” “Capitol,” “Groyper Army,” officials said. “Sleepers”, “Boogaloo”, “Civil War”, “The Last Sons”, “Kill”, “Shoot”, “Guns”, “Death”, “Murder”, “Biden”, “Kamala”, “Pelosi” , “Schumer”, “Pence”. ”
Sources said the distribution of search terms including “MAGA” and “Trump” began in the final weeks of the Trump administration, after January 6, 2021.
Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who made the initial discovery, has asked former FinCEN and FBI officials to work with the committee and the Weaponized Subcommittee to assist the committee's oversight investigation. He is requesting that he appear before the committee and transcribe the interview.
