U.S. House Judiciary Committee Republicans revealed the latest example of the dangers of big government last week when they announced that the FBI had enlisted the help of the financial service industry to spy on Americans after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
The bureau asked banks to flag legal purchases of weapons at sporting goods stores, and even the purchase of religious texts such as Bibles.
The banks were also told to flag any accounts that used keywords such as "Trump" or "MAGA."
One of the banks that complied was financial services giant Bank of America (BoA).
The House Judiciary GOP posted to X:
"Shop at Bass Pro Shop recently? How about Cabela’s? Bought a bible?," they asked.
"If so, the federal government may be coming after YOU." They followed this up with a news release.
"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 said.
What’s especially egregious is that the FBI, acting through the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), requested the information without presenting a search warrant, and apparently the banks never asked for one.
Moreover, had the FBI or FinCEN requested a warrant, it’s unfathomable that any court would have granted it.
The FBI, through FinCEN, was engaged in what could only be called a fishing expedition.
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures."
The U.S. Supreme Court held in Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967), that warrantless searches — those conducted absent the prior approval of a judge or magistrate — are per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment, subject only to a few well-established exceptions, such as a search incident to a lawful arrest.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio serves as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
The Ohio Republican blasted the FBI’s "sweeping characterization of political beliefs and constitutionally protected speech as indicators of domestic violent extremism."
That, combined with FinCEN’s warrantless collusion with banks, he said, "raises serious doubts about FinCEN’s respect for fundamental civil liberties."
But it’s not just the federal government that’s at fault. The banks’ willingness to comply with the government’s request without question is equally troubling.
One would assume that their first loyalty would be directed to their own customers, but apparently not.
A growing number of merchants are making it easier for federal authorities by requiring all purchases to be made on something that can be tracked and traced — such as a debit or credit card.
StudyFinds observed this week that the "no cash accepted" policies that are beginning crop up at stores make life difficult for the approximate six million Americans who lack a bank account.
But they have the ability to make it tougher on those who regularly use plastic.
Both the card purchases and the movements of the cardholder can be tracked — but only if the financial institutions allow it.
Banks have to learn to say no, especially in this age of a bloated government marked by an indecipherable alphabet soup of bureaucratic agencies.
There would be little need for a subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government if it weren’t for a powerful, unwieldy public sector, aided by a compliant private sector.
"When the people fear the government there is tyranny," said John Basil Barnhill, an early 20th century anti-socialist writer, and politician.
But "when the government fears the people there is liberty."
A government can only become weaponized against the people if the people permit it. We have to stop permitting it — beginning, in this case, with the financial services industry.
Only then can America once again become that "shining city on a hill" described by Ronald Reagan.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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