Report: DOJ's Operation Choke Point Secretly Pressured Banks to Cut Ties with Legal Business

Press Release

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) today released a staff report, The Department of Justice's "Operation Choke Point": Illegally Choking Off Legitimate Businesses?, on the DOJ's wide-ranging investigation of banks and payment processors. The ostensible goal of the investigation is to combat mass-market consumer fraud by foreclosing fraudsters' access to payment systems. However, today's report finds the true goal of Operation Choke Point is to target industries deemed objectionable by the Administration.

"Operation Choke Point is the Justice Department's newest abuse of power," Issa said. "If the administration believes some businesses should be out of business, they should prosecute them before a judge and jury. By forcibly conscripting banks to do their bidding, the Justice Department has avoided any review and any check on their power."

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