Jordan to FDIC Chairman: high-risk classification of gun sellers ‘looks like’ IRS targeting

While questioning Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin Gruenberg about Operation Choke Point during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing, Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) noted that the FDIC's actions bore a resemblance to the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative organizations.

In Operation Choke Point, the U.S. Department of Justice investigated banks that were working with legal businesses that the Obama administration opposed, such as gun dealers and pay-day lenders. Additionally, the FDIC listed such companies together with illegal businesses, claiming these legal companies were associated with "high-risk" activity. This caused banks to stop working with legitimate businesses.

Rep. Jordan said:

"It looks exactly like what the Internal Revenue Service did. They said to folks who were applying for a tax exempt status, ‘Nope, we're going to harass you, you've got to fill out a bunch more [paperwork], we're going to keep asking you a bunch of questions, we're not going to approve you.' And they targeted them, just like this list seems to be targeting certain types of businesses that you don't like, and obviously the Justice Department didn't like, as evidenced by Operation Choke Point. That's what it looks like."

VIDEO of Rep. Jordan's Q/A with Gruenberg: https://youtu.be/XWu68yNS5CQ

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