The Old Blog in the Desert

The House Judiciary Committee and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government have brought forth an interim staff report titled “Financial Surveillance in the United States: How Federal Law Enforcement Commandeered Financial Institutions to Spy on Americans.”

The findings are deeply concerning, shedding light on federal law enforcement and its expansive financial surveillance practices, delving into the private transactions of American citizens without specific evidence of criminal activity, and ignoring constitutionally protected freedoms. Federal entities, like the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the FBI, are implicated in facilitating covert discussions with major financial institutions.

Institutions involved include Barclays, U.S. Bank, Charles Schwab, HSBC, Bank of America, PayPal, and others. The methods employed included the use of keyword filtering to flag transactions containing terms such as “MAGA” and “TRUMP,” as well as purchases related to books, religious texts, firearms, and recreational activities from stores like Cabelas, Bass Pro Shop, and Dicks Sporting Goods.

Such surveillance, far-reaching and indiscriminate, appears to target millions of Americans with conservative inclinations or interests in Second Amendment rights, irrespective of any criminal suspicions. Moreover, the report exposes the existence of a web portal administered by the Domestic Security Alliance Council (DSAC), a collaborative effort involving the FBI’s Office of Private Sector and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis.

The platform purportedly facilitated the dissemination of intelligence products to financial institutions, aiding in the identification of individuals labeled as “domestic violent extremists” or criminals, often based on their conservative political affiliations or other constitutionally protected activities. Federal authorities leveraged these reports and shared materials to gain unfettered access to financial databases, conducting broad searches on individuals without criminal allegations and absent judicial oversight or warrants.

The implications of such pervasive financial surveillance are deeply troubling, casting doubts on the commitment of federal law enforcement and financial institutions to uphold the privacy rights and fundamental civil liberties of American citizens.