U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and other colleagues urged two federal courts to affirm that Congress has the power to crack down on money laundering.
As part of an amicus brief in the Texas Top Cop Shop v. Bondi, a case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, and Community Associations Institute v. Treasury, a case for the 4th Circuit, Wyden and his fellow Senators argued that under Article I, Congress has the authority to legislate on national security, tax, foreign affairs, and interstate and foreign commerce matters. Congress passed the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act in 2021 which ensured law enforcement and national security officials were able to learn the identities of people who own, or control U.S. corporations and other legal entities used as shell companies to conceal illegal activities.
The brief, also signed by U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren, (D-MA), and Jack Reed (D-RI), and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), helps the federal government to better combat terrorist financing, money laundering, sanction evasion and other illicit financing carried out through the shell companies. The lawmakers said the legislation has helped Congress engage in oversight.
In January 2025, the members filed a similar amicus brief in Firestone v. Yellen, a case for the 9th Circuit, and in April 2024, the lawmakers filed their first amicus brief in National Small Business United v. Yellen, a case for the 11th Circuit.
“Anonymous shell corporations harm the United States’ national security, foreign affairs, foreign and interstate commerce, and tax interests. Such shell companies often operate in multiple layers to hide their true owners and violations of key sanctions, money-laundering, and tax laws. Allowing illicit money to be hidden through corporate forms also undermines public safety and law enforcement efficacy on a national and international scale,” the group wrote.