Shop at Bass Pro Shop recently?
How about Cabela’s?
Bought a bible?
If so, the federal government may be coming after YOU. https://t.co/NNRZboXRDr
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) January 17, 2024
Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has sent a letter to the former Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director of the Office of Stakeholder Integration and Engagement in the Strategic Operations Division, Noah Bishoff, demanding he testify in front of the Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
FinCEN is part of the United States Treasury, and its mission is to “safeguard the financial system from illicit use, combat money laundering, and promote national security.” The agency was formed in 1990, but its power was significantly increased after the Patriot Act was passed in 2002. FinCEN absorbed the Office of Financial Enforcement and became an official law enforcement bureau in the Treasury.
Mr. Bishoff was the Director of the Office of Stakeholder Integration and Engagement in the Strategic Operations Division for FinCEN when the government agency sent out slides that were prepared by an outside financial institution, explaining how other banking entities could use merchant category codes (MCC) to detect customers that FinCEN believed could be “potential active shooters, [and] who may include dangerous International Terrorists / Domestic Terrorists / Homegrown Violent Extremists (‘Lone Wolves’).” These MCCs include “3484: Small Arms” and “5091: Sporting and Recreational Goods and Supplies.” The slides also encouraged using keywords such as “Cabela’s” and “Dicks Sporting Goods” to monitor for potential active shooters.
“Despite these transactions having no apparent criminal nexus—and, in fact, relate to Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights— FinCEN seems to have adopted a characterization of these Americans as potential threat actors,” Jordan wrote. “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 doubts about FinCEN’s respect for fundamental civil liberties.”
In addition to monitoring gun sales, FinCEN also wanted banking institutions to search Zelle messages for terms like “MAGA” or “TRUMP” to identify possible persons of interest. FinCEN went even further and marked people for simply buying religious books as possible extremists. These documents were sent out by FinCEN after the January 6 election protest. The monitoring includes watching the subject’s travel habits.
Mr. Bishoff oversaw the program when he was at FinCEN. Rep Jordan and other members of the committee want to know what safeguards are put in place to protect Americans’ privacy. They want Bishoff to answer the committee questions to determine if FinCEN violated the rights of Americans.
“As the former Director of the Office of Stakeholder Integration and Engagement in the Strategic Operations Division, you engaged regularly with financial institutions following the events of January 6, 2021, including the distribution of material about how financial institutions could use private customer information to assist federal law enforcement,” Jordan said. “As such, your testimony will aid our oversight. In particular, your testimony will help to inform the Committee and Select Subcommittee about federal law enforcement’s mass accumulation and use of Americans’ private information without legal process; FinCEN’s protocols, if any, to safeguard Americans’ privacy and constitutional rights in the receipt and use of such information; and FinCEN’s general engagement with the private sector on law-enforcement matters. We ask that you appear for a transcribed interview with the Committee promptly.”.
Rep Jordan has given Bishoff until January 31 to respond to the request.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
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