Attorney General Moody Leads Multistate Opposition to Biden-Harris Administration’s Latest Fearmongering Attempt

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Attorney General Ashley Moody today is leading 19 other attorneys general in opposition to the Biden-Harris administration's claim that state laws preventing de-banking are a "national security threat." Attorney General Moody and the coalition claim this is another attempt to stoke confusion about state laws to advance extreme activist agendas.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, "The Biden-Harris administration has pushed a radical agenda since its first day in office. From open borders, to attacking gas stoves and washing machines, they now are attempting to use the power of the Treasury Department to accuse states, that seek to protect their citizens from unjustified radical de-banking, of being a national security threat. This is nothing more than another attempt to leverage the power of the federal government to achieve this administration's destabilizing, activist agenda."

In a scathing response to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen today, Attorney General Moody and the coalition state, "No consumer or business should be denied services based on political beliefs or religious views or because of some arbitrary social credit score derived from ideological agendas. The letter deliberately misleads financial institutions about these state laws, for example, by falsely suggesting that laws such as Florida's HB 989 would prohibit financial institutions from considering whether a consumer is associated with designated terrorist groups. On the contrary, laws like HB 989 ensure that financial institutions focus on true risk-based factors and stay out of the business of forcing radical social policies."

Additionally, the attorneys general go on to point out that the Treasury Department seemingly is now opposed to their very own language stating, "deny[ing] any person a financial service . . . unless the denial is justified by such person's quantified and documented failure to meet quantitative, impartial risk-based standards." The coalition states, "At the time, the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network did not pose any objections to that language as creating a national security risk. Such an omission from criticism reveals that the Department's current criticisms are the product of political posturing rather than any genuine concern that prohibiting discrimination somehow endangers national security."

Attorney General Moody and the coalition of attorneys general are "looking forward to the day when federal regulators will focus on their statutory duties, rather than on advancing radical political causes…".

Attorney General Moody is joined by the attorneys general of the following states in sending the response letter: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Read the full letter here.

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