WASHINGTON, D.C. — December 11, 2024 — The House Judiciary Committee, in collaboration with its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, has released a bombshell report detailing how the Biden administration allegedly used the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to spy on Americans without legal warrants. The report, titled "Financial Surveillance in the United States: How the Federal Government Weaponized the Bank Secrecy Act to Spy on Americans," raises serious questions about privacy and government overreach.
According to the findings, the FBI, under the Biden-Harris administration, has manipulated the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) system to obtain private financial information from banks without the necessary legal processes. This includes using broad search terms like "MAGA" and "TRUMP" to target individuals, treating purchases of religious texts or firearms as indicators of potential extremism.
The report alleges that post-January 6, 2021, the FBI and the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) coordinated with financial institutions to sift through customer data, leading to the filing of numerous SARs on American citizens. This was done under the guise of investigating activities related to the Capitol riot, but the scope of surveillance reportedly extended far beyond that event, touching on everyday transactions of millions of Americans.
One of the most alarming aspects highlighted is the creation of an internal FBI portal where over 14,000 government employees conducted more than 3 million searches in 2023 alone, all without judicial oversight. The report describes how the government has conditioned financial institutions to act as extensions of law enforcement, essentially turning them into surveillance arms of the state.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has been vocal in his criticism, stating that "the federal government is spying on your bank account" and emphasizing the significant privacy violations this practice represents. The report's release has sparked considerable debate on social media, with posts on X highlighting concerns over the erosion of civil liberties and the weaponization of federal agencies against political opponents.
The implications of this report are profound, raising questions about the balance between national security and individual privacy rights. Critics argue that this surveillance could be seen as an unconstitutional overstep, potentially chilling free speech and political activity. Supporters of the administration, however, might argue that such measures are necessary for national security in the wake of domestic terrorism threats.
The White House has not yet responded to the report, but previous statements have dismissed similar inquiries as political stunts. The controversy is likely to fuel further investigations and possibly lead to legislative changes regarding how financial data is handled by federal agencies.
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