DOJ asks Supreme Court to reinstate federal anti-money laundering law

The Justice Department filed an emergency appeal on Tuesday to the Supreme Court, asking it to revive a federal anti-money laundering law that would require millions of small businesses to provide information about their owners to the Treasury Department.

Four business owners sued the department in May over the Corporate Transparency Act. The law, which was passed in 2021, was halted last month after a series of court rulings found that Congress exceeded its authority with the law and blocked its enforcement, according to The Hill.

The legislation was most recently blocked by the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Biden administration argued that the lower courts were the ones that overreached by blocking the law and insisted that the CTA is constitutional. If reinstated, the law would force millions of businesses to disclose information about the owners by next month, including their dates of birth and addresses, to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which combats money laundering crimes.

“Contrary to the district court’s decision, the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause empower Congress to adopt the CTA’s reporting requirements,” the department wrote in its filing. “At a minimum, the injunction should be stayed except to the extent it protects respondents and the members of NFIB identified in the complaint."

The lawsuit was filed by the National Federation of Independent Business on behalf of the Texas Top Cop Shop, Data Comm for Business, Mustardseed Livestock, Russell Straayer, and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi.

The NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group for key small business issues in Washington and all state capitals.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.