House GOP: JPMorgan Chase failing to hand over communications with feds over Jan. 6 customer data
'It’s pretty obvious that JPMorgan either lied to the committee or is incompetent,' a source familiar with the investigation said
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FIRST ON FOX: House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, says JPMorgan Chase is failing to turn over documents requested as part of Congress’ wide-ranging investigation into the FBI and how federal law enforcement coordinated with major financial institutions to snoop on customer transactions around Jan. 6, 2021, without any legal process.
In a letter to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon obtained by FOX Business, Jordan writes that, in June of this year, the Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government asked for all documents and communications between JPMorgan Chase and federal law enforcement related to the use of a JPMorgan Chase product in Washington, D.C., between Jan. 5, 2021, and Jan. 7, 2021.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPM | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 244.94 | +4.14 | +1.72% |
JPMorgan Chase, in response, indicated to the committee it did not possess such documents, according to the Jordan letter.
Documents on file with the committee, however, "indicate that JPMorgan Chase is in possession of documents that are responsive to our request. We therefore ask that JPMorgan Chase conduct another search for responsive documents," Jordan wrote.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is sworn in during the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing Sept. 22, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"The committee was concerned with a banks’ voluntary provision of customer information to law enforcement about their customers’ use of financial products around Jan. 6," Trish Wexler, a spokesperson from JPMorgan Chase, told FOX Business.
"We told them at the time we did not do this, and our answer would be the same today."
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The allegations stem from the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, when the FBI sought assistance from U.S. financial institutions to arrest those responsible for storming the U.S. Capitol over then-President Trump’s claims of election fraud.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WU | THE WESTERN UNION CO. | 10.86 | +0.14 | +1.31% |
| BAC | BANK OF AMERICA CORP. | 46.45 | +0.39 | +0.85% |
| PYPL | PAYPAL HOLDINGS INC. | 84.82 | +0.08 | +0.09% |
| C | CITIGROUP INC. | 68.95 | +0.67 | +0.98% |
New emails obtained by the committee show a representative with JPMorgan Chase was included in correspondence from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), along with other major financial institutions, including Western Union, Bank of America, PayPal, Citi and HSBC.
It included attachments that suggest the banks use search terms like "Trump" and "MAGA" to identify relevant customer transactions on behalf of law enforcement after the events of Jan. 6.
A protester yells inside the Senate chamber Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Financial institutions routinely interface with FinCEN on a variety of issues as a link between federal law enforcement and regulatory communities.
A source familiar with the discussions between the committee and JPMorgan Chase spoke of two calls with the bank to go over the committee’s request for information and was told JPMorgan Chase had conducted a search and found no relevant documents related to the committee’s request.
The main entrance at JPMorgan Chase headquarters in New York City April 19, 2022. ( Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
That email triggered the new letter from Jordan demanding JPMorgan Chase search again and hand over what it finds, a source familiar telling FOX Business.
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"Other documents obtained by the Committee indicate that at least one JPMorgan Chase representative was included on emails and Zoom discussions organized by the FBI and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in January 2021 about these topics," Jordan wrote in the letter.
"The use of back-channel discussions and commandeering of financial institutions’ databases for law enforcement purposes without adequate legal process or oversight only reinforces the Committee’s need for all materials responsive to our request."
Speaking on the matter, a source familiar with the investigation told FOX Business, "It's pretty obvious that JPMorgan either lied to the committee or is incompetent. If they did lie, what are they hiding and why are they doing so?"
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, listens during a hearing with the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Capitol Hill July 20, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The letter comes in the wake of a broader battle over data collection and privacy in the U.S., with Republicans on Capitol Hill vowing to crack down on supposed abuses from private companies, including banks.
"The Committee and Select Subcommittee must understand how and to what extent financial institutions, such as JPMorgan Chase, worked with the FBI to collect Americans’ data," Jordan added in his letter to Dimon.
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The Committee is giving JPMorgan Chase until Sept. 29 to turn over the relevant documents.