House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) is looking into whether GoFundMe and Eventbrite cooperated with federal law enforcement during their investigation into the financial transactions of supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Jordan wrote to executives at both companies on Monday, asking them to provide any communications with the FBI and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the Treasury Department. He noted that FinCEN emailed banks about flagging “MAGA” and “TRUMP” transactions.
After the January 6, 2021, breach at the U.S. Capitol, FinCEN asked banks to help federal law enforcement identify transactions of Trump supporters and others who purchased religious texts or visited certain outdoor stores, such as Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops. FinCEN provided the banks with documentation on various typologies, suggested search terms, and also pointed them to crowdfunding sites, according to Jordan. The congressman previously said, “FinCEN warned financial institutions of ‘extremism’ indicators.”
Jordan said in his letter to GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan that FinCen “emailed financial institutions a list of ‘crowdfunding sites’ that included GoFundMe, Eventbrite, and Anedot, among others, and explained how financial institutions could use a ‘transaction reference’ to identify customers making certain transactions on crowdfunding sites.”
“For example, in the email, FinCEN alerted financial institutions to customers’ use of Eventbrite, noting that ‘people have been observed using this site to post an event and sell tickets including bus tickets to the demonstrations,’” Jordan added.
Jordan noted how transactions for individuals who “purchased tickets to events in support of President Trump” were flagged by FinCEN as potential targets for investigation.
“Despite these transactions having no apparent nexus to criminal activity — and, in fact, relate to Americans exercising their First 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 federal law enforcement, without legal process, into Americans’ private transactions is alarming and raises serious concerns about the federal government’s potential abuses of Americans’ fundamental civil liberties.”
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In his letters, Jordan requested any communications from the FBI or FinCEN to either GoFundMe or Eventbrite. He gave the companies a March 18 deadline to comply with his requests.
The revelations about the federal government’s investigation into Trump supporters have lawmakers concerned about potential violations of constitutional liberties, the government’s use of private financial information, and coordination between FinCEN and the private sector.
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