Deutch Calls for Hearing on Reports of Missing Michael Cohen Files in Treasury Database


 
 Today, Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-22) wrote to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte requesting a hearing on reports by The New Yorker that certain suspicious activity reports (SARs) regarding financial transactions by President Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen are missing from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) database.

Video of Congressman Deutch’s remarks to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte can be viewed here.

Congressman Deutch's letter can be accessed here, and the text of the letter is available below.



Dear Chairman Goodlatte:

You have likely seen reports published last night by The New Yorker indicating that a law enforcement official believes that suspicious activity reports (SARs) related to transactions by Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney, are missing from the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) database. See attached.

The article indicates that searches of the database failed to return two previous suspicious activity reports referenced in a third suspicious activity report filed by First Republic Bank related to Michael Cohen’s account for Essential Consultants, LLC. The account was used for certain financial transactions including payment of $130,000 to Stephanie Clifford in October of 2016 in exchange for her agreement to withhold the story of her alleged affair with then-candidate Donald Trump.

The details of the first and second suspicious activity reports are unknown, but their absence from the FinCEN database is concerning and a matter that is rightly within the jurisdiction of this committee. Removing or restricting access to suspicious activity reports in the FinCEN database appears to be unusual:

Seven former government officials and other experts familiar with the Treasury Department’s FinCEN database expressed varying levels of concern about the missing reports. Some speculated that FinCEN may have restricted access to the reports due to the sensitivity of their content, which they said would be nearly unprecedented. One called the possibility “explosive.” A record-retention policy on fincen’s Web site notes that false documents or those “deemed highly sensitive” and “requiring strict limitations on access” may be transferred out of its master file. Nevertheless, a former prosecutor who spent years working with the FinCEN database said that she knew of no mechanism for restricting access to SARs.[1]

Accordingly, this committee should offer Secretary Mnuchin and other Treasury Department and Justice Department officials the opportunity to testify under oath regarding the policies and procedures related to the retention of, and access to, suspicious activity reports. This information is essential to our oversight role and will help to ensure that law enforcement agencies are able to conduct their work without interference.

In the article, the official who released the report is quoted, “We’ve accepted this as normal, and this is not normal.” It is also not normal for this committee to ignore its oversight obligations and fail to defend of the rule of law. Therefore, I respectfully urge you to schedule hearings to examine these issues as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

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