Court Orders Discovery To Commence In Two Weeks In Operation Choke Point Litigation

July 7, 2017 | Press Releases

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dealt another blow to Operation Choke Point and its perpetrators inside the U.S. government by ordering that discovery may begin in two weeks in the Operation Choke Point lawsuit, CFSA et al. v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. et al., No. 1:14-cv-00953. The discovery phase will allow plaintiffs to depose government employee witnesses under oath and examine government documents and emails that will shed light on the illegal activity inside these agencies, which has caused the loss of countless banking relationships for American businesses across the country.

“We are thrilled by the Court’s order to enter the discovery phase, as this illegal federal program has been unduly harming legal entities for years. This court order allowing discovery will now finally enable the plaintiffs to access records of the federal government’s behind-the-scenes and secretive campaign to force banks to terminate their relationships with lawful American businesses. It is high time that the government’s unlawful and unjust crusade against lawful and licensed businesses be stopped. The federal regulators leading Operation Choke Point have threated and pressured banks in the shadows of the law for far too long.” said Dennis Shaul, CEO of CFSA.

The Court’s order to commence discovery will allow the plaintiffs to very quickly move forward and expose the nefarious actions instigated by the Obama administration throughout its illegal targeting campaign. Through Operation Choke Point, bureaucrats have forced banks to end their legal business relationships with lawful and licensed companies, including a number of smaller, locally owned businesses, based simply on partisan ideology.

“The government defendants are well aware they have been on the wrong side of history for years and will stop at nothing to hide the extent of their illegal campaign. The Court’s rulings this week will allow these shady and criminal actions to be brought to the light of day,” Shaul added.

This ruling comes on the heels of the Court’s ruling denying the government defendants’ attempted actions to dismiss the lawsuit a day earlier. The court ruling also follows its May 2017 order in which it called for discovery to commence as soon as possible, noting that “there is no justification whatsoever for not granting Plaintiffs' Motion to Commence Discovery Immediately.”

CFSA and its largest member, Advance America, filed the lawsuit against the federal government in June of 2014 seeking to end Operation Choke and to have banking relationships restored. The defendants in the lawsuit are the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Thomas J. Curry, Comptroller of the OCC.