Two major crowdfunding sites are under investigation by Republicans as they expand the scope of their investigation into how the Biden administration worked with financial institutions to surveil Americans they deemed “extremists.”
In the wake of Jan. 6, Biden’s Treasury Department officials suggested that banks review transactions at sporting and recreational goods stores such as Cabela’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Bass Pro Shops to identify customers who may be “extremists.”
In addition, officials also warned banks about “extremism” indicators such as the purchase of a religious text, such as a Bible, or searches using the terms “MAGA” and “TRUMP.”
On Monday, House Armaments Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent letters to GoFundMe and Eventbrite asking them to cooperate with their ongoing investigation, exclusively reported by DailyMail.com.
Republicans say the federal government has urged crowdfunding platforms to “comb” their personal transactions and “report charges based on protected political and religious speech.”
He is asking the sites to turn over their previous communications with federal officials, including those at the Treasury Department, who oversaw the transaction.
Federal investigators suggested that banks use search terms like “MAGA” and “Trump” to identify purchases that could be linked to “extremism”
Transport costs for travel to areas without a clear purpose can be an indicator of ‘extremism’, according to the letter
Jordan writes that his committee has obtained documents showing that Treasury Department officials sent an email from the FinCEN Division on January 18, 2021 GoFundMe, Eventbrite, Anedot and others.
The officials explained how they could ‘use a ‘transaction reference’ to identify customers.
They include details on how to search using an individual’s ticket purchase and phone number specifically for Trump rally attendees.
‘FinCEN noted how ‘Card Purchase(s)’ for events are discoverable using ‘the transaction reference ‘EB (the EVENT) with the telephone number’ and explained how individuals who purchased event tickets in support of President Trump could be identified using the transaction reference,” the email said.
Jordan wrote in his letter Monday that these searches were conducted despite the transactions being “not clearly related to criminal activity.”
He says that as Americans exercised their First Amendment rights, FinCEN officials “characterized these Americans as potential threat actors.”
His committee continues the investigation and demands that the crowdfunding sites provide the requested documentation by March 18.
DailyMail.com has contacted GoFundMe and Eventbrite for comment.
Jordan has previously claimed that the federal government has “observed” Americans who frequent outdoor stores that sell guns — or who are religious.
According to Jordan, the terms “MAGA” and “Trump” were also suggested by the Treasury Department to search in Zelle payments.
Subscriptions to news media with “extremist” views would also be an indicator of financial instructions to watch, according to the material provided to banks by the Treasury Department.
“Did you shop at Bass Pro Shop or buy a Bible yesterday? If so, the federal government may be watching you,” Jordan previously wrote in a post.
“We now have federally flagged terms like ‘MAGA’ and ‘TRUMP’ for financial institutions when Americans complete transactions using those terms,” he wrote in another message. “Whatever was marked? If you have purchased a religious text, such as a BIBLE, or shopped at Bass Pro Shop.”
The federal officials may have illegally provided financial institutions with suggested search terms to “identify transactions on behalf of federal law enforcement,” Jordan said.
Jordan is also demanding information from a Treasury Department official, Noah Bishoff, after the alarming documents came to light.
Purchases at Bass Pro Shops can also be an indicator of extremism
The committee also obtained documents showing that officials suggested banks request purchases using keywords such as “Dick’s Sporting Goods.”
“This type of pervasive financial surveillance, conducted in coordination with and at the request of federal law enforcement, on Americans’ private transactions is alarming and raises serious questions about (the Treasury Department’s) respect for fundamental freedoms.”
“In other words, (the Treasury Department) urged major financial briefs to search their clients’ private transactions for suspicious allegations based on protected political and religious speech,” the commission’s letter to Bishoff said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called the revelation “yet another egregious example of the weaponized federal government targeting conservatives.”