Senator Demands to Know Who in Treasury Department Approved Search of ‘Religious Texts’ by Financial Institutions

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) wants to know who at the Department of Treasury approved searches of customers’ private accounts for transactions for “religious texts,” which books, if any, were singled out, and why such purchases were assumed to indicate an individual was involved in “domestic violent terrorism.” In a Jan. 19 letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Adrea Gacki, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Mr. Scott, who is the top GOP member of the Senate Banking Committee, said such searches “represent a flagrant violation of Americans’ privacy and the improper targeting of U.S. citizens for exercising their constitutional rights without due process.”...