Operation Choke Point
Operation Choke Point is a 2012 program started by Obama's Justice Department that uses the FDIC to pressure banks not to extend credit or other financial services to certain industries with high instances of fraud, such as pornography. Under that guise, the program is used as a backdoor to punish industries that Obama disagreed with, such as the firearms industry.
Congress would investigate and rebuke the findings but little has been done to stop it.[1] August 18, 2017, the Trump Justice Department led by Jeff Sessions finally killed the program. [2]
Merchants targeted are denied bank loans as federal regulators flag them as âhigh riskâ for fraud. In the firearms industry, that amounts to infringing on 2nd Amendment rights. Some companies targeted by Operation Choke Point;
- Ammunition sales
- Firearms sales
- Payday loans
- Money transfer networks
- Debt consolidation
- Online gambling
- Pornography
- Escort services