On Friday morning, in a letter obtained by Townhall, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, hoping for some answers that his predecessor, Christopher Wray, stonewalled the Committee on. In particular, Jordan is looking for answers to do with collusion between the FBI and financial institutions.
"Under the leadership of former Director Christopher Wray, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) deputized financial institutions to act as arms of federal law enforcement in an effort to surveil Americans engaged in constitutionally protected activity," Jordan's letter begins.
Even with such stonewalling, that's not to say that the Committee didn't try to achieve answers last year during the 118th Congress. "During the 118th Congress, the Committee on the Judiciary conducted oversight of this abuse of power, issuing multiple subpoenas to financial institutions, conducting transcribed interviews, holding a hearing, and releasing two reports. As we continue our oversight of these abuses in the 119th Congress, we write to request documents and information about the FBI’s requests for and use of financial data from financial institutions," Jordan's letter goes on to write. He cites hearings and reports from last year, including as recently as December.
As readers may recall, given that Townhall covered the matter extensively in May, June, and July of 2023, Bank of America (BofA) provided the FBI with a list of all individuals who used their debit or credit cards in the Washington, DC region on January 6, 2021 and the surrounding dates.
"Following the events of January 6, 2021, a whistleblower disclosed to the Committee how Bank of America (BoA), voluntarily and without legal process, provided the FBI with a list of names of all individuals who used a BoA credit or debit card in the Washington, D.C. region around that time. After other FBI officials corroborated these allegations, the Committee and Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government requested documents from BoA and six other financial institutions about federal law enforcement’s receipt of financial data," Jordan's letter goes on to chillingly remind.
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Jordan's letter then goes on to address the FBI's involvement in the matter, mentioning how this targeting of conservatives goes beyond January 6 and BofA.
"We obtained documents that revealed that following the events of January 6, 2021, federal law enforcement, including the FBI, initiated multiple discussions with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and some of the largest financial institutions in the United States. Following these discussions, federal law enforcement and FinCEN shared various nonpublic documents and information with financial institution," the chairman writes.
The FBI even shared an intelligence product with financial institutions about domestic terrorists, and how to filter Zelle payments using keywords. "The FBI shared one intelligence product, titled, 'Domestic Violence Extremists Likely Emboldened in Aftermath of Capitol Breach,' prepared by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), with financial institutions to alert them to individuals that may fit the profile of criminal and domestic violent extremists. Another document showed how financial institutions should filter Zelle payments using keywords like 'MAGA' and 'TRUMP' and that 'the purchase of books (including religious texts) and subscriptions to other media containing extremist views' could be evidence of 'Homegrown Violent Extremism,'" Jordan explains.
Given what else we know about the FBI, and how conservative Americans, such as Trump supporters, were targeted, this sadly isn't surprising. The FBI also targeted Catholics, which Jordan and other Republicans had a chance to memorably call Wray out on during a July 2023 hearing. The chairman had been trying to seek answers for months before that, but Wray along with then-Attorney General Merrick Garland were less than forthcoming.
"Our first interim report detailed how federal law enforcement derisively viewed Americans, targeting those who expressed opposition to issues such as open border policies, COVID-19 lockdowns, firearm regulations, and vaccine mandates as potential domestic terrorists," he continues.
Jordan's letter concludes in part by referencing a report from December 6 of last year from the Committee and Select Subcommittee staff further detailing "how federal law enforcement used its virtually unchecked access."
The chairman, along with Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), who serves as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, as well as Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), are looking for answers from Patel now, who, with any hope, will be more forthcoming.
Patel is thus asked to provide the following when it comes to a timeline from January 1, 2021, to the present:
1. All documents and communications between the FBI and any financial institution in which the FBI requested that a financial institution file a SAR based on specific criteria or in which an FBI employee requested that a financial institution share a SAR directly with an FBI employee;
2. All internal documents, correspondence, memoranda, or materials referring or relating to how the FBI obtains BSA data from financial institutions;
3. All documents and communications between or among FBI employees, FinCEN employees, or employees of any other federal agency referring or relating to the use of typologies, or other keywords, search terms, and techniques that may be used to identify, query, monitor, flag, target, or limit certain kinds of financial transactions;
4. All documents and communications between or among the FBI and any financial institution referring or relating to domestic extremism or domestic violent extremism;
5. All documents and communications between or among the FBI’s Office of the Private Sector or Strategic Partner Engagement Section and any financial institution referring or relating to the events at the Capitol on January 6, 2021;
6. All documents and communications between or among the FBI’s Office of the Private Sector or Strategic Partner Engagement Section and FinCEN referring or relating to the events at the Capitol on January 6, 2021;
7. Documents sufficient to show the total number of FBI employees with access to BSA data;
8. All Memoranda of Understanding for “Agency Integrated Access” between the FBI and FinCEN; and
9. Documents sufficient to show the number of FBI employees with access to BSA data through Agency Integrated Access.
Patel is asked to provide answers by 10:00 am on April 4. "We appreciate your leadership in refocusing the FBI on its public-safety mission and improving transparency and accountability in the Bureau," the letter also notes.
.@townhallcom obtained a letter from @JudiciaryGOP Chairman @Jim_Jordan, as well as @Congressman_JVD, and @RepLoudermilk seeking information from Kash Patel on FBI-financial institution collision after being stonewalled by Chris Wray.
— Rebecca Downs🇺🇸🟦🇮🇱 (@RebeccaRoseGold) March 21, 2025
Check it out! https://t.co/qTXM3lQokb pic.twitter.com/XlQC32QxES
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