GOP senator calls for repealing new law designed to prevent money laundering and terrorism

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) took to X on Friday to try to drum up public support for his plan to repeal a recently enacted law intended to crack down on money laundering and the finance of terrorism.

"I’ve got a bill — the Saving Privacy Act — that would repeal the Corporate Transparency Act," wrote Lee, quoting a post from several months ago by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) railing against the law. "Do you agree that the CTA is unduly intrusive and needs to be repealed?"

Lee's comment generated praise from armies of Trump supporters and right-leaning small business owners; however, it also drew criticism from some experts.

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" and want to protect money launderers?" questioned national security reporter Marcy "emptywheel" Wheeler.

The Corporate Transparency Act, which was passed in 2019 and first took effect at the start of this year, requires U.S. corporate entities with fewer than 20 employees to disclose all the people who either hold at least a 25 percent stake in the business or exercise "substantial control" over it to the federal government by Jan. 1. Violators face prison time and fines of up to $10,000.

That deadline has been pushed back multiple times and enforcement thrown into limbo after a series of federal court decisions in Texas that blocked the law, then unblocked it, then blocked it again.

Lee has previously pushed legislation that would abolish the Transportation Security Administration.