The House Judiciary Committee uncovered documents showing the Treasury Department urging banks to monitor customers’ transactions and flag terms like “MAGA” and “TRUMP,” as well as activities such as purchasing religious texts or shopping at certain stores.
The surveillance was criticized as an alarming violation of civil liberties and an attempt to target political and religious expression.
The Biden administration’s actions were condemned by Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, and the report highlighted the absurdity of flagging certain transactions as potential terrorist activities.
“Individuals who shopped at stores like Cabela’s or Dick’s Sporting Goods, or purchased religious texts like a bible, may also have had their transactions flagged,” a committee statement read.
“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 concerns about the FBI’s respect for fundamental civil liberties,” the committee wrote.
“We now know the federal government flagged terms like ‘MAGA’ and ‘TRUMP,’ to financial institutions if Americans completed transactions using those terms,” Rep. Jim Jordan wrote.
We now know the federal government flagged terms like “MAGA” and “TRUMP,” to financial institutions if Americans completed transactions using those terms.
What was also flagged? If you bought a religious text, like a BIBLE, or shopped at Bass Pro Shop. pic.twitter.com/jjRaVNItWz
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) January 17, 2024
“What was also flagged? If you bought a religious text, like a BIBLE, or shopped at Bass Pro Shop.”
“For example, the slides instruct financial institutions to query for transactions using certain MCC [Merchant Category Codes] codes such as ‘3484: Small Arms,’ ‘5091: Sporting and Recreational Goods and Supplies,’ and the keywords ‘Cabela’s,’ and ‘Dick’s Sporting Goods,’ among several others,” the committee wrote.
“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,” the subcommittee said.
The overall concern remains the weaponization of federal agencies to surveil U.S. citizens without legal process, raising serious civil liberties issues.
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