Imagine you walk into your local bank, check in hand, only to discover that the checking account you opened just a few weeks ago is inaccessible. It’s been restricted and marked for closure. When you ask why, the teller shrugs. The computer screen in front of her tells her she can’t give you any other information.
That’s what happened to one of the founders of the National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF) in May 2022. When the organization, co-founded by former Sen. Samuel Brownback to promote religious freedom, tried to ask JPMorgan Chase why its account had been closed, all it was able to elicit were frustratingly vague replies. Chase told NCRF that Brownback was labeled a “Political Exposed Person” and therefore was subject to heavier scrutiny — but according to internal guidelines, political figures aren’t supposed to be labeled as such. Nearly a year later, at a meeting with shareholders concerned about the bank’s apparent practice of discrimination, Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stated that NCRF hadn’t completed all the paperwork. There wasn’t a problem, he said. (READ MORE: Still Looking at You, Kids: Congress Aims to Extend Warrantless Surveillance for the Foreseeable Future)
The confusion could be forgiven if Chase’s decision to suddenly close the account of an organization closely tied to a conservative political figure was just a one-off accident. But it wasn’t. Not only that, but Chase is not the only organization “debanking” conservatives.
Just last year, Bank of America informed Indigenous Advance Ministries, a Christian charity dedicated to helping fund mission work in Uganda, that it would be closing its bank account, as well as the bank account of a local church that supported the organization. The reason given? Bank of America informed the charity that “upon review of your account(s), we have determined you’re operating in a business type we have chosen not to service at Bank of America.”
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which went to bat for both NCRF and Indigenous Advanced Ministries, has revealed that it is also being targeted by the financial elites. Over the last five years, the organization has received “16 complaints from donors in 13 states who have had their donations to ADF denied or hindered by Fidelity Charitable,” Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel and senior vice president of corporate engagement at the law firm said in a written statement for the House of Representative’s Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. These instances are just the “tip of the iceberg,” Tedesco said. He further stated:
Systemic risk of political and religious bias pervades the financial industry, particularly within the largest banks and payment processors. They maintain reputational risk policies that allow them unfettered discretion to punish customers who have, in the institution’s view, problematic views. Many also have prohibitions on “hate” speech and “intolerance” that require subjective and value-based judgments on a customer’s viewpoint.
It’s quite simple. If a bank doesn’t like its customers’ opinions or if the institution is worried that government regulators could punish the bank for serving certain customers, it might just close their accounts.
On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representative’s Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government heard from a panel of witnesses that included Daily Wire podcast host and psychologist Jordan Peterson; Brian Knight, a senior research fellow and the director of innovation and governance at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University; and Norbert Michel, the vice president and director of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute.
Usually, congressional hearings are somewhat sleep-inducing; but if you’re the average American who likes to be able to purchase a firearm and a bible without your bank flagging your account and sending your information to the FBI, it should be a riveting three-hour listen. Over the last few months, the subcommittee has found substantial evidence that Big Government and Big Banks are colluding, ostensibly in the name of protecting Americans from “domestic terrorists” — i.e. those of us who occasionally splurge on some bait and tackle at Bass Pro Shops. (READ MORE: Engoron Goes Medieval on Trump)
We now know that federal investigators “asked financial institutions to search customer transactions” with specific terms, simultaneously warning them that “purchases of ‘religious texts’ could indicate ‘extremism.'” The Office of Stakeholder Integration and Engagement in the Strategic Operations of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which operates under the Treasury Department, warned banks that indicators of “extremism” might even include “transportation charges, such as bus tickets, rental cars, or plane tickets, for travel areas with no apparent purpose.'”
Tedesco said in his written statement on Thursday, “Many conservative and religious citizens and organizations are one disgruntled activist, employee, or regulator away from losing their bank account or payment processing. Recent incidents have shown that this is happening, that it is accelerating, and that government agencies and financial institutions are all too willing to cooperate to harm our civil liberties.” He concluded, saying, “We cannot live in a free country if access to the marketplace depends on our political or religious views.” (READ MORE: Truckers Target Trump-Hating New York Judge)
At this point, we’re no longer talking about flagging the accounts of charity organizations and right-wing political lobbyists. This is about the federal government and financial institutions working together to closely monitor the purchasing activities of individuals they’ve deemed potential domestic terrorists because of their purchasing habits. This is the collection and surveillance of data at a massive scale.
