FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2021
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Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Attorney General Steve Marshall Warns Biden Administration Against Illegal
Privacy Intrusion of Americans
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall warned President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Friday that the administration’s proposed policy to give the federal government access to nearly every American’s bank account and financial transaction information is unacceptable and illegal.
“The Biden administration’s scheme to give the Internal Revenue Service the ability to inspect the bank accounts of basically all Americans without any warrant or reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing is not only highly intrusive but very likely illegal,” said Attorney General Marshall. “This Orwellian level of monitoring all Americans’ bank records is an outright invasion of privacy and runs counter to the well-founded constitutional principles against illegal searches and seizures, and I join my fellow attorneys general in strongly opposing it.”
In their letter to President Biden and Treasury Secretary Yellen today, Attorney General Marshall and 19 other attorneys general argued it has become all too common for the Biden administration to disregard the Constitution and laws of the United States in issuing policies such as this.
“It is the primary role of government to protect persons and property, and it is our duty to protect the people of our states, which is why we oppose this reckless abuse of federal power. Americans are justifiably outraged by this policy and see it as illegal, intrusive, wholly unnecessary and costly. If stopping financial criminals or punishing those who evade taxes is the goal of this administration, we will gladly join you to find the right solutions based on the rule of law, but we are certain violating the privacy of virtually every American with a bank account is not the answer. For those reasons, we oppose this policy and urge you to cease all efforts to advance this proposal immediately.”
While the details of the Biden administration’s proposal have not yet been finalized, reports indicate the new policy will require all banks, credit unions, and financial institutions to report information to the IRS on every bank account that has a balance of at least $600 or exceeds $600 a year in transactions.
Attorney General Marshall joined attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and West Virginia in sending the letter to President Biden and Secretary Yellen today.
Read a copy of the attorneys general letter here.
[For link, click PDF icon at upper right of press release]
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