Posted on 05/29/2014 11:18:29 AM PDT by PoloSec
The House Committee on Oversight and Government reform has compiled a scathing report on the Department of Justice's “Operation Choke Point” program that critics believe is aimed at “targeting industries deemed objectionable” by the Obama administration.
The report, released Thursday by panel chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., accuses the Justice Department of abusing its authority by going after the payday lending industry and other merchants and working to put them out of business.
According to the report, the Justice Department “secretly” discouraged banks from conducting business with groups deemed to be “high risk,” for triggering a federal investigation. Sign Up for the Politics Today newsletter!
The program, according to Issa’s report, has “forced” banks to end relationships with many legitimate businesses, in particular internet payday loan companies.
The operation is being used to target a widening list of businesses that fall under the high risk label, the report found, and could eventually be utilized to stop merchants who sell firearms, credit repair services, dating services, coins, pharmaceuticals and even magazine subscriptions from obtaining financial services from banks.
These businesses have been found by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to be conducting “high-risk activity.”
The House report quoted an internal Obama administration memo in which “senior officials” acknowledged Operation Choke Point was hurting the payday loan industry but said that eliminating such businesses would be a “significant accomplishment” for consumers.
Payday loan businesses have been criticized for luring in desperate borrowers with high-interest loans that often leaves them in perpetual debt.
The report accuses the Justice Department of acting without legal authority, because only private banks and loan companies are involved and not federal institutions.
According to documents obtained by the committee, the Justice Department has “radically and inappropriately expanded its own authority” to conduct the operation.
The report names four banks, including Bank of America, which have recently stopped doing business with payday lending groups.
Hancock Bank cited “heightened scrutiny required by our regulators” in terminating an account with a payday lending business.
The list, Ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
Payday loan businesses have been criticized for luring in desperate borrowers with high-interest loans that often leaves them in perpetual debt.
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Among those named: Harvard University, Princeton, MasterCard, Visa, Bank of America, Chase Bank ...
Bank of America Allegedly Drops McMillan Gun Company For ‘Political’ Reasons
Putting the lenders out of business would not push these people into banks, but into the hands of loan sharks.
Once given this authority, all they have to do is change the definition of "high risk" to affect more businesses.
This stinks, and this administration has GOT to go.
The lenders are loan sharks.
You would not believe some of the stories I'm told as a triage interviewer at a local clothing/food bank. Perpetual debt is the name of their game. Bunch of predatory, lowlife, scumbag bastards!
The dirty little secret is, that a lot of these payday loan outfits are actually owned by banks.
Folks would be surprised by how many “choke points” those in power are using on We the People.
And it ain’t all just in government.
Start with Google and Facebook.
The Social Engineers are riding high these days. With more tools available to them than the Soviets, or the Nazis, ever dreamed of.
‘Folks would be surprised by how many “choke points” those in power are using on We the People.’
The hits just keep on coming don’t they. The House says woe is me this is terrible and then proceed to do absolutely nothing about it. I believe they are all dirty and the Feds have the goods on them so nothing will ever be done to stop this crap.
FR is the only website I use that Google doesn’t show up as a tracker on. Wish I knew how the program works, it tells me who is tracking me but not how to stop them.
I misspoke, appears that Goggle showed up as tracking me here. I don’t even use Goggle and haven’t for years, its like a fungus of some kind that you flat can’t get rid of.
I just blocked everything. Take that you nosy bast——!
A program of which Benito Mussolini would have been proud.
Agreed. You’re not helping these people by taking away what is sometimes their only option. There is an element of personal responsibility here.
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