FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress that Bank of America willfully handed over the financial records of customers who made gun purchases on or around January 6th, 2021, and said businesses provide such personal data on a regular basis.
Wray’s comments, when confronted during testimony at Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, seem to confirm allegations made by an FBI whistleblower earlier this year.
Retired FBI supervisory intelligence analyst George Hill provided his own testimony in February, saying, “The Bank of America, with no directive from the FBI, data mined its customer base.”
Hill noted that the bank focused on events surrounding the Capitol riot with those who used their services to legally purchase firearms getting the most attention.
“And they data mined a date range of 5 to 7 January of any BOA customer who used a BOA product,” he said. “And by ‘BOA product’ I mean a debit card or a credit card. They compiled that list. And then, on the top of that list, they put anyone who had purchased a firearm during any date.”
Retired supervisory intelligence analyst George Hill blew the whistle on the FBI saying the agency used data mining from Bank of America about customers and transactions to track information on possible participants in the January 6th protest.@jsolomonReports @AmandaHead pic.twitter.com/hacVE8WmU3
— Real America’s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) February 9, 2023
Wray: Bank of America, Other Companies Provide FBI With Personal Data All The Time
Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) referenced Hill’s testimony and asked the FBI Director if the bureau had requested the information from Bank of America without a warrant.
“George Hill, former FBI supervisory intelligence analyst in the Boston field office, told us that the Bank of America, with no legal process, gave to the FBI gun purchase records with no geographical boundaries for anybody that was a Bank of America customer. Is that true?” Massie asked.
Wray replied that “A number of business community partners all the time, including financial institutions, share information with us about possible criminal activity, and my understanding is that that’s fully lawful.”
FBI Director Wray admits the government has been working in conjunction with financial institutions like Bank of America to mine personal data such as gun purchase records for law abiding citizens, with no warrants or subpoenas involved. pic.twitter.com/AxYAMQPYrt
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 12, 2023
“Was there a warrant involved?” Massie pressed.
“Again, my understanding is that the institution in question shared information with us, as happens all the time,” Wray said.
Despite Hill stating that Bank of America took the actions of their own accord, the congressman informed Wray that he had an email indicating that the FBI “did give the search queries to Bank of America” and the bank in turn provided the data “without a search warrant.”
Wray claimed the bureau did not use the information provided by Bank of America, but could have because sharing of the personal data is “fully lawful under current federal law.”
“That you can ask this is scary,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) chimed in.
Massie told Wray, “It may be lawful, but it’s not constitutional.”
Does the Constitution still exist?
What are the penalties for violating it? https://t.co/n690UrnoKT
— Jason W Hoyt (@JasonWHoyt) July 13, 2023
RELATED: DOJ Indicts Whistleblower Days After He Made Bribery Allegations Against President Biden
Won’t Discuss Informants At the Capitol – No News On Pipe Bombs
In other January 6th related news, Director Wray repeatedly balked when asked if the FBI had active informants working in the crowd on the day of the riot.
“I really need to be careful here talking about where we have or have not used confidential human sources,” he told members of the committee.
FBI Dir. Wray won’t answer whether there was “more than one” FBI informant in the crowd or in the Capitol on day of Jan. 6 Capitol riot. pic.twitter.com/wWwa2ahoWr
— Fred Lucas (@FredLucasWH) July 12, 2023
And despite the FBI being able to track down dozens of senior citizens who might have been on the grounds of the Capitol during the riot so they could be prosecuted, Wray had no updates on the individual who was seen on video placing pipe bombs outside political party headquarters on January 5th, 2021.
Massie implied that the pipe bomber’s motives would have been to divert attention from the election protests, and perhaps that’s why they are not being pursued with the same vigor as Trump supporters.
If the bombs had gone off, they would have “cause[d] the maximum distraction from the events going on at the Capitol,” he said. “It appears to me that’s not a coincidence.”
Wray said investigators had pursued every angle on the pipe bomber but that he could not comment on an ongoing criminal investigation.
It’s been 900 days since the 1/6 pipe bombs were planted and the FBI still refuses to provide information. Why is Wray stonewalling basic questions about the individual who may have found the bomb at the DNC? pic.twitter.com/r8aW2RPQF6
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 12, 2023
Wray also testified that any theories suggesting the FBI was somehow involved in instigating the Capitol riot were “ludicrous” and a “disservice” to the “brave” people working at the bureau.
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