Feds using banks to surveil Americans’ financial data without warrants, House Judiciary says
The House Judiciary Committee has uncovered disturbing findings regarding the manipulation of the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) system by federal law enforcement agencies. The committee’s interim report, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, reveals how the FBI has been exploiting the SAR filing process to gain access to Americans’ financial information without the necessary warrants or probable cause.
According to the report, the FBI has been pressuring financial institutions to act as de facto arms of law enforcement by issuing requests for information on individuals deemed suspicious, without following the legal process required by federal law. By encouraging these institutions to file SARs, the FBI can bypass the Bank Secrecy Act’s requirements and gain access to confidential and sensitive financial data.
The committee discovered that the FBI’s actions have effectively turned the framework of financial surveillance on its head, violating the Fourth Amendment’s protections of particularity and probable cause. The FBI’s tactics have raised serious concerns about Americans’ financial privacy and the widespread use of warrantless surveillance programs by the federal government.
The committee’s investigation was prompted by a whistleblower’s disclosure that Bank of America had voluntarily provided the FBI with a list of individuals who had used their credit or debit cards in the Washington, D.C. region around the time of the January 6th events. Additionally, federal investigators had asked banks to search customer transactions using terms like “MAGA” and “Trump,” as part of their inquiry into the Capitol riot.
Despite the FBI’s efforts to justify their actions by citing national security concerns, the committee’s report highlights the alarming extent to which federal law enforcement has been granted unchecked access to Americans’ private financial data. The FBI’s collaboration with financial institutions has allowed them to conduct broad and unjustified surveillance, undermining the financial privacy rights of individuals across the country.
The committee warns that without proper safeguards in place, the federal government and financial institutions will continue to compromise Americans’ financial privacy. The report calls for renewed oversight and accountability to prevent further erosion of financial privacy in the United States.
The FBI has yet to respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the committee’s findings. The revelations uncovered by the House Judiciary Committee serve as a stark reminder of the importance of protecting Americans’ constitutional rights, even in the face of national security concerns.
