WASHINGTON, D.C. - Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has issued a subpoena to Bank of America (BoA) for documents and communications related to an investigation into major banks sharing Americans' private financial data with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) without legal process for transactions made in the Washington, D.C., area around January 6, 2021.
This move comes after it was revealed that in 2021, Bank of America provided the FBI with a list of individuals who made transactions in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area using a BoA credit or debit card between January 5 and January 7, 2021. The information was shared voluntarily and without any legal process.
However, it was later discovered that the FBI "pulled" the information from its systems because the leads lacked allegations of federal criminal conduct. Steven Jensen, the FBI's then-Section Chief of the Domestic Terrorism Operations Section, took action after realizing that the information provided by BoA did not meet the necessary criteria.
Documents obtained by the Judiciary Committee and Weaponization Select Subcommittee also revealed that the FBI provided Bank of America with specific search query terms, indicating their interest in all financial relationships of BoA customers in Washington D.C. who had made any historical purchase of a firearm, or had purchased a hotel, Airbnb, or airline travel within a given date range.
Bank of America has asserted that its actions were within a legal process initiated by the United States Department of the Treasury. However, documents on file with the Committee and Select Subcommittee contradict this claim, indicating that the FBI directly contacted Bank of America without legal process.
It is now unclear what "legal" process permits the FBI or Bank of America to share sensitive customer information and implicate them in a federal law enforcement investigation without any clear criminal nexus. Bank of America has cited the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Bank Secrecy Act as the legal basis for their actions. However, these laws primarily contemplate information-sharing with the U.S. Department of Treasury, not external correspondence with the FBI.
In light of these revelations, it has become imperative for Congress to consider reforms that adequately protect Americans' financial information. Federal law enforcement should not have unrestricted access to individuals' financial data based solely on deeming a transaction or class of transactions as "suspicious."
The Judiciary Committee and Weaponization Select Subcommittee are authorized to conduct oversight in matters involving civil liberties and criminal law, and their aim is to inform potential legislative reforms. However, Bank of America has so far failed to comply with the Committee's request voluntarily.
Chairman Jim Jordan's subpoena to Bank of America seeks to uncover the full extent of the information-sharing between the bank and the FBI, including a review of the "filing" that BoA emailed to the FBI.
The Committee's pursuit of this information is crucial in order to inform potential legislative reforms that adequately protect Americans' information and ensure that law enforcement agencies follow proper legal procedures when accessing sensitive financial data.
To learn more, click on this link: https://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/chairman-jordan-subpoenas-bank-america-information-sharing-customers-private
