More than a dozen Republican attorney generals, led by Kansas AG Kris Kobach, lambasted Bank of America for malpractice after several customers complained that they lost their accounts because of their religious or political views.
In a letter signed by Kobach and 14 other Republican colleagues, the attorney general noted that the company “appears to be conditioning access to its services on customers having the bank’s preferred religious or political views.”
“Your discriminatory behavior is a serious threat to free speech and religious freedom, is potentially illegal, and is causing political and regulatory backlash,” the group wrote.
“Your bank needs to be transparent with us and assure us, its shareholders, and others that it will not continue to de-bank customers for their speech or religious exercise,” they added.
However, Bank of America’s Media Relations Representative Bill Halldin denied that “religious belief” was a factor in any account-closing decision.
“Bank of America’s practice of canceling the bank accounts of conservatives and even turning over information about customer’s purchases to federal law enforcement undermines free speech, religious freedom, and the right to privacy,” Kobach remarked in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“It’s discriminatory and likely illegal. As state attorneys general, we will vigorously defend the constitutional rights of all Americans when they are threatened by big business.”
“Those agencies outrageously used innocuous information—such as whether someone shopped at outdoor stores, supported Trump, purchased religious texts, had conservative views on COVID-19 or immigration, or was associated with groups like Alliance Defending Freedom, Family Research Council, and the Ruth Institute, which champion mainstream views on free speech, religious freedom, and life—to tar ordinary Americans as potential domestic terrorists,” their letter wrote.
The attorney generals also highlighted a recent report by the House Judiciary Subcommittee exposing that Bank of America “willingly participated in financial surveillance” and volunteered confidential information about their clients without any warrant or notice.
“We are deeply concerned that Bank of America is willing to cooperate in the infringement of its customers’ constitutional and privacy rights to help federal law enforcement surveil and target millions of conservative Americans, many of whom live in our states,” the letter states.
While noting that Bank of America is the second-largest bank in the country, the attorney generals emphasized that it is in their “great interest to protect a culture of free speech within our borders.”
With 15 percent of all domestic deposits, the bank appears to be abusing its power “to punish conservative and religious customers by handing their data over to federal law enforcement and even canceling their accounts. This not only undermines free speech and religious freedom, but also is potentially illegal and could lead to investigations, litigation, regulation, and political backlash.”
