WASHINGTON – Alliance Defending Freedom’s Center for Free Speech sent multiple public records requests Monday to the U.S. Department of Treasury, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation seeking information regarding potential illegal government monitoring of Americans’ personal and financial activity by the prior administration.
In the Freedom of Information Act requests, ADF attorneys are asking for records that show the federal government may have worked with private companies to surveil customers with mainstream conservative and religious beliefs under the guise of combatting “violent extremism.” This includes requests seeking documents and communication between the federal government and private banks that include references to “domestic terror” and “January 6.” In the case of the FBI, ADF attorneys are also asking for communication with tech companies like Meta, Google, and X.
“Americans should have a government that stands up for their constitutional rights,” said ADF Senior Counsel Phil Sechler, director of the ADF Center for Free Speech. “Regrettably, the Biden administration appears to have used its federal muscle to force private companies and banks to spy on Americans. Our country’s founding documents and decades of court precedent forbid such back-door bureaucratic espionage. Americans have a right to full transparency of illegal government action; our country should never police the activity of citizens simply because they hold differing political views than the party in power.”
The letters sent to the Treasury Department specifically identify the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, while letters to the DHS identify the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. All letters related to financial activity name the Domestic Security Alliance Council. The Biden administration used these agencies to target and silence conservative organizations and their supporters—a collusive effort frequently referred to as the “censorship-industrial complex.”
In addition to these requests, ADF also sent two FOIA requests to the National Science Foundation to obtain information related to its funding of tools that may be used to censor Americans’ speech and information regarding its cooperation with organizations to moderate online speech. ADF also sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce seeking information on efforts to skew artificial intelligence results to suppress what government officials deem “disinformation.” ADF intends to send more than a dozen such FOIA requests to uncover possible free speech violations from the previous administration.
- Pronunciation guide: Sechler (SECK’-lur)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
# # #