Republicans are investigating two major crowdfunding sites as they expand the scope of their investigation into how the Biden administration worked with financial institutions to surveil Americans they deemed “extremists.”
After Jan. 6, Treasury Department officials in the Biden administration suggested that banks review transactions at sporting goods and recreational stores such as Cabela’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Bass Pro Shops for customers who might be “extremists.”
Additionally, officials also warned banks about indicators of “extremism,” such as purchasing a religious text, such as a Bible, or searches that include the terms “MAGA” and “TRUMP.”
On Monday, House Arms Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent letters to GoFundMe and Eventbrite asking them to cooperate with his ongoing investigation, DailyMail.com exclusively reported.
Republicans say the federal government urged crowdfunding platforms to “review” their personal transactions and “report charges based on protected political and religious expression.”
It is requesting that the sites turn over their past communications with federal officials, including those at Treasury, who oversaw surveillance of the transactions.
Federal investigators suggested that banks use search terms like ‘MAGA’ and ‘Trump’ to identify purchases that could be associated with ‘extremism.’
Transportation charges for travel to areas with no apparent purpose could be an indicator of “extremism,” according to the letter.
Jordan writes that his committee obtained documents showing that on January 18, 2021, Treasury officials from the FinCEN division sent an email GoFundMe, Eventbrite, Anedot and others.
Officials explained how they could’use a ‘transaction reference’ to identify customers.
They included details on how to search using a person’s card purchase and the phone number specifically for Trump rally attendees.
‘FinCEN noted how ‘Card Purchases’ for events can be found using ‘the transaction reference ‘EB (the EVENT) with phone number’ and detailed how people who purchased tickets for events in support of President Trump could be identified using the transaction reference,” the email said.
Jordan fumed in his Monday letter saying that these searches were being conducted even though the transactions “have no apparent nexus to criminal activity.”
It says that as Americans exercised their First Amendment rights, FinCEN officials “adopted a characterization of these Americans as potential threat actors.”
His committee continues to investigate and requires crowdfunding sites to 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 been “watching” Americans who frequent outdoor stores that sell guns, or who are religious.
According to Jordan, Treasury also suggested that the terms ‘MAGA’ and ‘Trump’ be searched for in Zelle payments.
Subscriptions to media outlets containing “extremist” views would also be an indicator to take into account for financial instructions, according to material the Treasury provided to banks.
‘Did you shop at Bass Pro Shop yesterday or did you buy a Bible? If so, the federal government may be watching you,” Jordan previously wrote in a post.
“We now know that the federal government flagged terms like ‘MAGA’ and ‘TRUMP’ to financial institutions if Americans completed transactions using those terms,” he wrote in another post. ‘What was also pointed out? If you purchased a religious text, such as a BIBLE, or purchased from Bass Pro Shop.’
Federal officials may have illegally provided financial institutions with suggested search terms to “identify transactions on behalf of federal authorities,” Jordan said.
Jordan is also demanding information from a Treasury official, Noah Bishoff, after the alarming documents came to light.
Shopping at Bass Pro Shops Could Also Be an Indicator of Extremism
The committee also obtained documents indicating that officials suggested that banks query purchases with keywords such as “Dick’s Sporting Goods.”
“This type of widespread financial surveillance, carried out in coordination and at the request of federal authorities, on Americans’ private transactions is alarming and raises serious questions about (Treasury’s) respect for fundamental freedoms.”
“In other words, (Treasury) urged large financial institutions to examine their customers’ private transactions for suspicious charges based on protected political and religious expression,” the committee’s letter to Bishoff said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called the revelation “yet another blatant example of the federal government gunning down conservatives.”
