Attorney General Ashley Moody is leading a coalition of 19 other attorneys general in opposing the Biden-Harris administration’s assertion that state laws preventing de-banking constitute a “national security threat.” The coalition argues that this claim is an attempt to create confusion about state laws to further what they describe as extreme activist agendas.
“The Biden-Harris administration has pushed a radical agenda since its first day in office. From open borders, to attacking gas stoves and washing machines, they now are attempting to use the power of the Treasury Department to accuse states, that seek to protect their citizens from unjustified radical de-banking, of being a national security threat. This is nothing more than another attempt to leverage the power of the federal government to achieve this administration’s destabilizing, activist agenda,” said Attorney General Moody.
In a response addressed to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Attorney General Moody and her colleagues stated: “No consumer or business should be denied services based on political beliefs or religious views or because of some arbitrary social credit score derived from ideological agendas. The letter deliberately misleads financial institutions about these state laws, for example, by falsely suggesting that laws such as Florida’s HB 989 would prohibit financial institutions from considering whether a consumer is associated with designated terrorist groups. On the contrary, laws like HB 989 ensure that financial institutions focus on true risk-based factors and stay out of the business of forcing radical social policies.”
The coalition further argued against what they perceive as inconsistent positions by the Treasury Department: “At the time, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network did not pose any objections to that language as creating a national security risk. Such an omission from criticism reveals that the Department’s current criticisms are the product of political posturing rather than any genuine concern that prohibiting discrimination somehow endangers national security.”
Attorney General Moody expressed hope for future regulatory focus: “We look forward to the day when federal regulators will focus on their statutory duties, rather than on advancing radical political causes.”
Joining Attorney General Moody in this effort are attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota South Carolina Texas Utah West Virginia and Wyoming.
Read the full letter here.
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