Recently, an FBI whistleblower testified before the House Judiciary Committee that the Washington field office was illegally pressuring agents in Boston to open criminal cases on 140 people who had taken a bus to the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, DC.
George Hill, a military veteran and longtime analyst for the NSA and FBI, said that Washington supervisors were trying to open cases on seven individuals identified in a Bank of America data sweep, but the Boston office refused because there was no evidence of any criminality.
Hill also expressed concerns that the FBI may have illegally mined American’s bank records and that it could be withholding video footage of the Jan. 6 rally. This is an egregious violation of the public’s right to privacy and we must hold the FBI accountable.
Judicial Watch is currently pursuing litigation to force the Bureau to release documents on how it got bank records during the Jan. 6 probe, but so far, the FBI has declined to provide any data.
In its appellate brief, Judicial Watch argues:
“This appeal arises from what appears to be an unprecedented abuse of the financial privacy of thousands of Americans. Substantial and compelling evidence demonstrates that the FBI sought and received records from financial institutions of anyone who used a credit card or engaged in other transactions in the Washington, D.C. area on January 5 or 6, 2021. This would include many thousands of persons living in the Washington, DC area, including possibly members of this Court.”
In February 2022, Judicial Watch filed an opposition to the U.S. Capitol Police’s (USCP) effort to shut down Judicial Watch’s federal lawsuit for January 6 videos and emails. Through its police department, Congress argues that the videos and emails are not public records, there is no public interest in their release, and that “sovereign immunity” prevents citizens from suing for their release.
It is outrageous that the FBI would even consider this kind of violation of our rights and freedoms but I think we all know where those orders originated from.
The Democrats in power are setting a dangerous precedent that could lead to further abuses of power. We must never forget that we are the ones in charge and that our government works for us.
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