On May 19 Breitbart News reported that banks were cutting ties with firearm and ammunition manufacturers and retailers because of pressure being brought to bear on financial institutions by the Department of Justice (DOJ) via “Operation Choke Point.”
Since then, we reported that this DOJ operation has turned into a search and destroy mission by which the Obama administration goes after banks working with businesses the administration does not like: firearms/ammunition manufacturers and retailers among them.
On May 29 Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO-3) offered an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science spending bill to be sure no funds in it are appropriated to support “Operation Choke Point.” The amendment passed on a voice vote.
Breitbart News spoke with Rep. Luetkemeyer on May 30 about where things go from here, and he responded:
Number one, we support DOJ efforts to find fraud, abuse, and root that out. But it appears the DOJ is not interested in simply going after the bad guys but the entire banking industry. So we want a safe harbor to be given to banks that meet certain criteria, so they can feel free to conduct business–including business with the firearms/ammunition manufacturer and sales industry.
We are working to put a safe harbor in place, and if the DOJ and FDIC don’t do it then the Congress will do it via legislation.
Luetkemeyer said there have been numerous types of documentation on how banks working with “the non-deposit lending industry and firearms/ammunition manufacturer and sales industry” have been targeted in “Operation Choke Point.” He said the House is working on a bill that “would protect banks while they are working with legally performing entities.”
The Congressman added: “Operation Choke Point goes beyond looking for fraudulence and seeks instead to do away with an entire industry.”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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