CNN
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has terminated contracts with multiple expert witnesses it had hired in cases against companies accused of hurting consumers.
A wide-ranging, indefinite freeze on activities at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau leaves Americans more vulnerable to financial abuse, consumer advocates say.
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The decision to suddenly cancel the contracts with expert witnesses suggests that the consumer watchdog no longer plans to pursue these enforcement actions under the Trump administration.
“The richest man in the world is coming in to shut down a case where a lender is cheating working people,” one expert witness whose contract was canceled on Tuesday told CNN in a phone interview, alluding to Elon Musk. “It’s utterly outrageous.”
The expert witnesses requested anonymity to avoid retaliation.
“I’m a little bit afraid of them. They could try to sue me or send an FBI agent,” the first expert witness said.
Another expert witness hired to pursue a case against a debt buyer told CNN they had been working on the case for several years before the termination notice on Tuesday.
“It’s pretty ludicrous,” this witness said.
The CFPB did not respond to a request for comment.
When the CFPB prepares to file a lawsuit against a company, it typically hires professors, researchers and others as experts to evaluate the evidence and testify against financial institutions.
“If the CFPB fires the experts who supported claims, that suggests the CFPB is no longer interested in pursuing claims against at least some financial institutions,” said Kathleen Engel, a research professor at Suffolk University Law School.
Engel said that the termination of expert witness contracts suggests a broader policy under the new administration to stop pursuing enforcement actions.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Engel, who served on an advisory board for the CFPB.
The moves come just days after CFPB leadership told employees to “stand down” on all work, including fighting financial abuse.
