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US Consumer Protection Bureau Chief Reportedly Halts Equifax Investigation

Mick Mulvaney, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), is reportedly pumping the brakes on the investigation into how credit reporting agency Equifax failed to protect the personal data of millions of Americans.
Sputnik

According to reports from Reuters, sources revealed Monday that Mulvaney failed to order subpoenas against Equifax or called for sworn testimonies from executives. The bureau also ditched plans to test how Equifax protects its data.

But there's more: when officials at the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency chimed in to offer their assistance in the investigation, the CFPB gave them a firm "no thanks."

Equifax Credit Agency Estimates 2.5Mln More US Consumers Impacted by Data Breach

Though the bureau has yet to release a statement on the allegations, some officials in the political realm have jumped in with their comments.

"First the Trump administration gave lavish tax breaks to corporate CEOs and wealthy investors," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "Now the Trump administration's hand-picked saboteur is essentially handing out ‘get out of jail free' cards to Equifax executives."

"This decision to undermine the mission of the CFPB, at the expense of the middle class, is appalling and the administration must reverse course immediately," the 67-year-old Democratic politician added.

Though this investigation has ground to a halt, Reuters reported that Equifax is still being investigated by every state attorney general and facing over 200 class action lawsuits. The security failure is also being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission.

The investigation of Equifax was initially launched by former CFPB Director Richard Cordray in September 2017 after the credit agency announced that hackers had stolen personal data that the company had collected on roughly 143 million Americans. The CFPB director position was later given to Mulvaney in November 2017 after Cordray opted to leave the bureau to pursue his political ambitions.

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