from the American Spectator:
Big Banks Cave to Pressure From AOC
Seeking to appease progressive lawmakers, banks turn their backs on the law — and common sense.
SunTrust, a bank holding company centered in the southeastern U.S., announced on Monday that it will terminate its business relationship with CoreCivic, a leading American private prison and detention center company. The announcement was accompanied by a statement claiming that SunTrust’s decision was “made after extensive consideration of the views of our stakeholders on this deeply complex issue.”
SunTrust is the fourth major bank to exit the private corrections industry, following Bank of America in late June and JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo in March. These U.S. financial institutions ignore their contractual obligations in favor of tailoring their business dealings to the whims of progressives in Congress.
CoreCivic responded to the decision by accusing SunTrust of “caving to political pressure based on false and misleading statements about our company.”
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have exploited the illegal immigrant crisis to stir public sentiment against the private detention industry. After a visit to a southern border holding center on July 1, Ocasio-Cortez alleged that guards at the facility engaged in “psychological warfare” against migrants and forced them to drink out of toilets.
Her claims, though quickly disputed and debunked by border patrol agents, inflamed emotions against detention centers. CoreCivic’s ordeal — the company is not affiliated with the facility that Ocasio-Cortez visited and does not operate facilities on behalf of U.S. Customs and Border Protection — shows that firms are now being expected to answer for the problems of their competitors.
In an email to The American Spectator, CoreCivic Managing Director of Communications Steven Owen said SunTrust gave “less than a day’s notice,” having “notified [CoreCivic] Sunday afternoon and made their announcement Monday morning.”
