{"id":1556075,"date":"2022-07-15T06:00:14","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T10:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1556075"},"modified":"2022-07-15T09:05:07","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T13:05:07","slug":"biden-admin-sued-for-allegedly-hiding-records-on-hostile-takeover-of-federal-deposit-insurance-corporation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-sued-for-allegedly-hiding-records-on-hostile-takeover-of-federal-deposit-insurance-corporation\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden Admin Sued for Allegedly Hiding Records on &#8220;Hostile Takeover&#8221; of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-admin-sued-for-allegedly-hiding-records-on-hostile-takeover-of-federal-deposit-insurance-corporation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1556075&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>President Joe Biden\u2019s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is being sued by a watchdog for allegedly concealing records related to its \u201chostile takeover\u201d of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), according to a complaint obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, who sits on the FDIC board, came under scrutiny after trying to launch a public comment on bank merger reforms in December 2021 without the consideration of then-FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Functional Government Initiative (FGI) filed a Freedom of Information Act request in January for records related to the CFPB\u2019s \u201cunprecedented moves\u201d undermining the FDIC\u2019s independence but has received no records and now filed a transparency lawsuit.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A government watchdog is suing a federal agency responsible for regulating consumer finance over its alleged stonewalling of records on its \u201chostile takeover\u201d of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), according to a complaint obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>The Functional Government Initiative (FGI), a <a href=\"https:\/\/functionalgovernment.org\/\">group<\/a> probing abuse in government, filed a Freedom of Information Act request in January for records related to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau\u2019s (CFPB) \u201cunprecedented moves\u201d undermining the FDIC\u2019s independence. The watchdog says it has received no records even though the CFPB promised it would produce them by June 2, and is now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/582571682\/Complaint-FGI-v-Consumer-Financial-Protection-Bureau-22-Cv-2069?secret_password=QUdQOItGUNiRfnjpaqK1\">suing<\/a> for the records.<\/p>\n<p>Rohit Chopra, the CFPB\u2019s director who sits on the FDIC board, came under scrutiny after trying to launch a joint public <a href=\"https:\/\/files.consumerfinance.gov\/f\/documents\/cfpb_bank-merger-act-rfi_joint-statement_2021-12.pdf?source=email\">comment<\/a> on bank merger reforms in December 2021 without the approval of then-FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams. Chopra bypassed \u201clong-established processes\u201d by serving the chair with a \u201cfinished document requesting public comment\u201d in a \u201cbrazen attempt to seize control,\u201d McWilliams, a Trump appointee who announced her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fdic.gov\/news\/press-releases\/2021\/pr21107.html\">resignation<\/a> in February, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/hostile-takeover-fdic-board-rohit-chopra-michael-hsu-jelena-mcwilliams-abuse-power-11639432939\">wrote<\/a> in a December op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n<p>The FDIC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fdic.gov\/regulations\/laws\/rules\/5000-1200.html\">governs<\/a> bank mergers, per federal law. Chopra has sought further regulations \u201cto determine how to implement existing law more effectively to ensure that families and small businesses benefit from a competitive market,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerfinance.gov\/about-us\/blog\/how-should-regulators-review-bank-mergers\/\">noting<\/a> it is a \u201cprivilege\u201d of banks to merge and \u201cnot a right.\u201d Senate Banking Committee Republicans have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.banking.senate.gov\/newsroom\/minority\/banking-republicans-call-on-the-president-to-rebuke-fdic-coup-attempt\">argued<\/a> that the CFPB\u2019s bank mergers statement was \u201cillegitimate\u201d and violated the FDIC\u2019s \u201ctradition of working independent from partisan political influence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrying to force independent agencies to function as partisan rubber stamps violates the historic norms of how these agencies were designed to function,\u201d Pete McGinnis, a spokesman for FGI, told the DCNF. \u201cDirector Chopra\u2019s attempt to takeover and turn the FDIC into a political tool is not only a threat to the FDIC itself but also an attack on the objectivity of other independent federal agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The CFPB was launched in 2011 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerfinance.gov\/about-us\/blog\/celebrating-10-years-consumer-protection\/\">and<\/a> oversees more than 5,000 banks. Chopra was nominated by President Joe Biden in February 2021 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2021\/02\/13\/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-2\/\">lead<\/a> the agency. <span class=\"a\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/06\/29\/u-s-chamber-of-commerce-ad-chopra\/\"><strong>(RELATED: US Chamber Of Commerce Targets Biden\u2019s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director In Ad Campaign)<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Chopra, an Obama-era CFPB appointee who served <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2016\/08\/clinton-transition-team-rohit-chopra-227550\">on<\/a> Hillary Clinton\u2019s 2016 presidential campaign transition team, was told by FDIC General Counsel Nicholas Podsiadly twice that he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fdic.gov\/foia\/files\/fdicboardgovernanceandbylaws.pdf\">violated FDIC bylaws<\/a> in circulating a notational vote \u2014 which is a memo to board members \u2014 in connection with bank merger reforms.<\/p>\n<p>The FDIC is an independent government agency, FGI notes, and Chopra\u2019s attempted takeover \u201cbroke nearly 90 years of tradition and may undermine the independence of other independent agencies across the US government.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7474311\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7474311\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 APRIL 26: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee April 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. Chopra testified on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau\u2019s Semi-Annual Report to Congress and other topics during the hearing. (Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"a\">\u201cA wide audience of persons is interested in what has been happening at the FDIC, as well as <\/span><span class=\"a\">the CFPB\u2019s role in those events,\u201d FGI said in its complaint. \u201c<\/span><span class=\"a\">Although the events initially received press coverage, <\/span><span class=\"a\">information about what precipitated the events remains limited.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The watchdog is demanding the CFPB provide records with the key phrases \u201cbylaws,\u201d \u201cresignation,\u201d \u201cmerger review process,\u201d \u201cinappropriate,\u201d and more. It is also seeking records between the CFPB and the office and campaign of Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, as well as the lawmaker herself, who is a longtime <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/senwarren\/status\/1351168329071915008\">ally<\/a> of Chopra.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"a\">\u201cThe records requested by <\/span><span class=\"a\">FGI will provide the public additional information about what transpired in this extraordinary <\/span><span class=\"a\">chain of events and give the\u00a0public greater insight into the decision making at the CFPB,\u00a0a<\/span><span class=\"a\">re relatively new federal agency that has been subject to limited scrutiny,\u201d the lawsuit states.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The CFPB declined a request for comment, as did the FDIC.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"View Complaint - FGI v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau #22-Cv-2069 on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/582571682\/Complaint-FGI-v-Consumer-Financial-Protection-Bureau-22-Cv-2069#from_embed\">Complaint \u2013 FGI v. Consumer\u2026<\/a> by <a title=\"View Gabe Kaminsky&#039;s profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/595267212\/Gabe-Kaminsky#from_embed\">Gabe Kaminsky<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is being sued by a watchdog for allegedly concealing records related to its \u201chostile takeover\u201d of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC),<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1573825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1556075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1556075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1556075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1556075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1573825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1556075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1556075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1556075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}