Kerby Anderson
More than a year ago, I talked about the phenomenon of “debanking.” This occurs when an individual is denied banking services because of their political stance or business venture.
At the time, I talked about Nigel Farage who lost access to banking services in the U.K., which he believed was due to his previous involvement in Brexit. I also talked about Dr. Joseph Mercola, who was informed that his business bank accounts along with the bank accounts of his family members were all closed. He believed that was because of his previous statements about the Covid vaccine.
The allegation of debanking was given more prominence due to an interview Joe Rogan did with Marc Andreesen, who is in the tech industry and best known as the co-founder of Netscape. In the interview, he said he knows 30 tech company founders who have been debanked within the past four years. His claim set off a flood of anecdotes from other social media users complaining they also lost access to their accounts.
Add to this the claim from Melania Trump who wrote in her memoir that her “longtime” bank closed her account. It also refused to open an account for her teenage son Barron (who was just in high school at the time).
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency denies that it directs banks to open or close bank accounts. But it is worth remembering that years ago, the Department of Justice began a program (known as Operation Choke Point) with banks to fight fraud. But the program apparently was also used to hurt legal businesses (like gun sellers) that the administration didn’t like.
The incoming administration will no doubt investigate the issue of debanking. And I predict they will discover there was validity to these many allegations.
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