U.S. Rep. Stacey Plaskett, the non-voting delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands’ at-large congressional district, is the Democratic Ranking Member on the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which held a hearing today to examine — according to the House Judiciary Committee press release — “how Big Government has colluded with Big Banks to surveil Americans’ private financial data.”
While the release states that the financial surveillance of January 6 rioters uncovered by the Jim Jordan-chaired Committee “was not predicated on any specific evidence of particularized criminal conduct and it focused on terms and specific transactions that concerned core political and religious expression protected by the Constitution,” Rep. Plaskett and many Democratic members on the committee disagreed.
In her opening statement below, Plaskett asserts plainly that after the January 6 attack on the Capitol, the FBI asked the Bank of America for information on individuals who fit three categories:
- people who came to the Capitol on January 6;
- that purchased a firearm within six months; AND (not or)
- planned to come back for the inauguration (information based on purchases including AirBnb and hotel reservations made in the DMV area).
Plaskett said the government uses such tools “to prevent crimes from happening” — in this case due to widespread fear that the Jan 6 rioters would return to the Capitol for the inauguration.
Plaskett contends that the thorough and specific methodology serves law enforcement’s mandate to keep people safe. The Congresswoman added that she isn’t opposed to these same law enforcement tools being used on her personally, were she to meet the criteria.
Rep. @StaceyPlaskett: I’ve shopped in a Bass Pro Shop plenty of times. I read the Bible on a regular basis. I happen to be, and my family happens to be gun owners. But I'm not afraid that the FBI is going to be searching my bank account because I was also not a rioter on January… pic.twitter.com/E88sAHiiFN
— House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) March 7, 2024
Plaskett, who left the Republican party in 2008 to become a Democrat, revealed her conservative bona fides before slamming the proceedings with her objection: “I’ve shopped in a Bass Pro Shop plenty of times. I read the Bible on a regular basis. I happen to be, and my family happens to be gun owners. But I’m not afraid that the FBI is going to be searching my bank account because I was also not a rioter on January 6th,” she told her colleagues.
Once again my GOP colleagues are trying to minimize Jan 6 because they’re still hiding from 45s rioters
— Rep. Stacey Plaskett (@StaceyPlaskett) March 7, 2024
They’re scaredy-cats of TRUTH (oh my it may cost them their jobs) https://t.co/9NE1q9qhA3
Above is Plaskett’s full 10-minute statement. After the hearing, she wrote: “Once again my GOP colleagues are trying to minimize Jan 6 because they’re still hiding from 45s rioters. They’re scaredy-cats of TRUTH (oh my it may cost them their jobs).”
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