The House Judiciary Committee has leveled serious allegations against the FBI for its handling of financial surveillance practices.
The interim report claims that the FBI used the Suspicious Activity Report system to spy on Americans without adhering to legal standards according to Fox News.
The controversy centers around the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) system. Originally, the system was designed to help financial institutions flag illegal activities.
However, the House Judiciary Committee's findings suggest that the FBI has manipulated this system, bypassing the normal legal processes required to access such data.
According to the report, the FBI has been effectively turning banks into surveillance arms by encouraging them to file SARs under dubious pretexts. This practice has raised concerns about the potential violation of Americans' Fourth Amendment rights.
The investigation into these practices began when a whistleblower came forward with evidence regarding Bank of America's activities surrounding the January 6 Capitol riot. It was revealed that the bank had handed over customer data to federal authorities without proper legal demands.
Further details emerged showing that the FBI had instructed banks to look for specific terms like "MAGA" and "Trump" in transactions, tying them to potential domestic terrorism activities. This guidance was given despite the lack of clear legal mandates.
The involvement of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) was also noted. Post-January 6, the FBI and FinCEN pushed for an increase in SAR filings linked to domestic terrorism, further blurring the lines between lawful oversight and overreach.
The committee’s report criticizes these practices as a departure from standard legal procedures. "With narrow exception, federal law does not permit law enforcement to inquire into financial institutions’ customer information without some form of legal process," the report states.
This method of operation, where the FBI provides banks with lists of individuals deemed suspicious beforehand, is considered by the committee as a reversal of the intended use of the SAR system. It essentially converts a system meant for spotting real threats into a tool for broad surveillance.
"In sum, by providing financial institutions with lists of people that it views as generally ‘suspicious’ on the front end, the FBI has turned this framework on its head and contravened the Fourth Amendment’s requirements of particularity and probable cause," the report further elaborates.
In response to these allegations, the FBI stated, "While we have no comment on the report, as a general matter the FBI frequently receives information from the private sector about possible criminal activity."
The bureau also noted that under the Bank Secrecy Act, financial institutions are obligated to file SARs on activities they find suspicious, which FinCEN then shares with law enforcement agencies. They emphasized that an investigation cannot be initiated without evidence of a federal criminal violation or a threat to national security.
"We follow the law and the facts, and we never open an investigation based solely on First Amendment activity," the FBI concluded.
The House Judiciary Committee's findings have sparked a broader discussion about the balance between security needs and the protection of civil liberties. The extensive use of SARs, combined with the advancements in technology, poses significant risks to financial privacy if left unchecked.
The potential for these surveillance practices to expand further has prompted calls for stricter oversight and clear legal guidelines to ensure that privacy rights are not infringed upon in the name of national security.
With over 48,000 pages of documents reviewed, the committee's investigation sheds light on a concerning pattern of cooperation between financial institutions and law enforcement that may have far-reaching consequences for American citizens.
