How at least 13 banks worked with feds to SPY on transactions of hundreds of ... trends now
At least 13 financial institutions are being investigated by Republicans in Congress for colluding with the federal government to spy on Americans after the January 6 protests looking for 'extremism' indicators.
The House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government led by top Republican Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is investigating 'collusion' between U.S. banks and federal agencies in the aftermath of the Capitol riot.
The Biden administration worked with banks to comb through 'extremism' indicators like the purchase of a religious text, like a Bible, or searches including the terms 'MAGA' and 'TRUMP,' according to shocking revelations by the committee.
Bank of America, Chase, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, Citi Bank and Truist were already being targeted in the probe looking to expose how the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the FBI worked together.
Now, DailyMail.com can first reveal that seven other financial firms are also under investigation for ties to an FBI and FinCEN plot to spy on Americans' private banking transactions without first obtaining a warrant.
Charles Schwab, HSBC, MUFG, PayPal, Santander, Standard Chartered and Western Union have all been asked to turn over documents and communications with FinCEN and the FBI to the committee, according to letters exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com.
U.S. Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen told lawmakers in February that she does not know much about the surveillance instructions that were distributed by FinCEN following January 6
The House Judiciary Committee revealed in January that officials at the U.S. Treasury circulated a memo instructing financial institutions how to spot extremism indicators like purchasing travel to Washington, D.C. or religious texts around the time of January 6, 2021
'The Committee and Select Subcommittee remain concerned about how and to what extent federal law enforcement and financial institutions continue to spy on Americans by weaponizing backdoor information sharing and casting sprawling classes of transactions, purchase behavior, and protected political or religious expression as potentially 'suspicious' or indicative of 'extremism,'' the letters to the institutions said.
'Documents obtained by the Committee and Select Subcommittee show that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) circulated concerning materials,' to each of the seven additional firms Jordan wrote.
Charles Schwab, MUFG, PayPal, Santander, Standard Chartered and Western Union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
HSBC declined DailyMail.com's request for comment.
'This kind of warrantless financial surveillance raises serious concerns about the federal government's respect for Americans' privacy and fundamental civil liberties,' Jordan wrote in a separate letter to Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen, also obtained by DailyMail.com.
According to investigators, FinCEN and the FBI received data on 211 individuals from the Bank of America in a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) on January 17, 2021.
But the SAR was only sent after the FBI and FinCEN asked U.S. banks to scour customer transactions for key terms like 'MAGA' and 'Trump' to identify 'extremism' in a memo distributed in the aftermath of January 6.
The federal agencies provided the financial institutions 'thresholds' for which an SAR should be raise, according to Peter Sullivan, the FBI's former financial sector liaison.
He sat for a transcribed interview with the weaponization
