Personal Defense World readers will probably be familiar with Operation Choke Point. Many people don’t realize how close we could be seeing this travesty again.
Operation Choke Point
For those who are not familiar with the scandal, here is some background.
Operation Choke Point was initiated under the Barack Obama Administration. Joe Biden is now Vice President. It was an illegal attempt by the financial system, specifically banking regulations, to thwart Second Amendment rights.
The FDIC had at the time listed several merchant categories as high-risk. This included dating services and pawnshops as well as payday lenders, online gambling and pornography.
For those working in the firearms industry, ammunition and firearm sales were also on the high-risk list. The “operation” was actually designed to force banks into doing the anti-gun administration work. Banks felt threatened if they offered financial services to merchants with high-risk business. Many were legal businesses.
Many financial institutions ended their relationships with gun shops and other firearms businesses on the list.
Operation Choke Point – Under Scrutiny
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), a trade association representing the firearm industry, investigated allegations of unfair discrimination against gun-related companies on May 29, 2014. The findings were shocking.
“The National Shooting Sports Foundation is investigating the possibility that the federal government may have influenced banks in their lending decisions regarding companies in our sector,” NSSF stated in a prepared statement. “Several industry members have reported that their banking relationships were terminated by their lending institutions,” NSSF said.
“We respect financial institutions’ right to make business decisions based upon objective criteria. However, discriminating against businesses because they engage in lawful firearms commerce is unacceptable. This activity is protected by the Second Amendment.
After much public scrutiny and congressional hearings, the FDIC finally issued revised guidance regarding “high-risk” categories. The revised guidance did not include the targeted industries. It was too late for some businesses who had lost banking services and couldn’t survive without them.
Martin Gruenberg’s Return
Martin J. Gruenberg was the head of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), at the time of the scandal. You can see the panic among pro-gun groups as well as others in the firearms sector when President Biden nominated Martin J. Gruenberg, who was so involved in Operation Choke Point, to head the FDIC again.
“That Biden now proposes that the FDIC chairman under whose supervision Operation Choke Point decimated numerous lawful and creditworthy companies is a telling, provocative move,” the Institute for Legislative Action of the National Rifle Association wrote in a member alert.
Operation Choke Point aside. Many Republicans in the U.S House and Senate had other reasons for opposing Gruenberg. Gruenberg was instrumental in the removal of Jelena McWilliams, Trump’s former chairman. McWilliams, a woman and a first-generation American immigrant of Serbian descent, is McWilliams. Therefore, McWilliams resigned as chairman of the board on Dec. 31.
“President Biden’s appointment Martin Gruenberg as the Chair of the FDIC demonstrates that this administration does not plan to work across the aisle in order to build a more inclusive system,” North Carolina U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry said. McHenry is the top Republican on North Carolina’s House Financial Services Committee.
“Instead of nominating someone fresh and dynamic who understands the rapidly changing role technology plays in banking, the White House chose to nominate more of the same. Gruenberg, acting Chair, has been a fervent partisan at FDIC for more a decade. He was also a key player in Democrats’ scheme to seize control of the Board from Jelena McWilliams. McHenry stated that it was unacceptable to nominate someone who has shown total disregard for the Board’s 88-year history of independence and its norms.
A Strong Rebuke
A few months later, the U.S. Senate confirmed Gruenberg’s nomination. Gruenberg is now at the FDIC helm once more. Two Republicans voted in favor of the confirmation: Sen. Roy Blunt, Missouri, and now-retired Senator Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania–who decided to put Operation Choke Point’s orchestrator back in charge.
Many in the firearms industry, including NSSF, were shocked by the confirmation vote.
“The Senate’s confirmation Martin Gruenberg is a flagrant disregard his role in illegally using government levers to force discriminatory bank policies on the firearms and ammunition industry,” Lawrence G. Keane (NSSF’s senior vice-president and general counsel) stated in a press release.
Keane said, “His culpability for leading this illegal operation was not only previously examined by Congress, but was also highlighted and highlighted by Senate Banking Committee Republicans. Because Mr. Gruenberg played a leading role in creating, regulating, and punishing the firearms industry through illegal means, President Barack Obama and former Attorney-General Eric Holder found that this industry was politically disfavored, he was not eligible to be reconfirmed as a public trust.
It remains to be seen if Gruenberg will use the FDIC position he has re-acquired to support President Biden’s ongoing attacks on the firearms industry, and lawful gun owners. One thing is certain: Pro freedom groups like the NRA or NSSF will be closely monitoring the situation. They will be quick to raise the alarm if such shenanigans continue.
Continue Reading
Are you still having trouble finding what you were looking?
Search
The post Will Biden Appointment lead to another Operation Choke Point operation? Personal Defense World was first to publish this article.
