WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two Republicans are making allegations against the FBI that there were several field offices involved in drafting a controversial memo claiming Catholics were “potential domestic terrorists.” Additionally, the lawmakers insinuate FBI Director Christopher Wray either withheld the number of offices involved or was unaware of the amount during his sworn testimony in July.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Republican Jim Jordan, and his counterpart on the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, Republican Mike Johnson, have been investigating the origins of an FBI memo, dated January 23rd of this year, titled, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”
According to Jordan, the committee is concerned the intent behind the memo was to target Catholics unjustly, thereby violating practicing Catholic's First Amendment rights.
After learning of the memo, the committees put forth requests to the FBI seeking information on who developed the memo and why it was written. This information was unclear due to many portions of the memo being redacted. In response, Director Wray provided sworn testimony that there was only one field office that had been involved in the memo, something Jordan and Johnson both now believe to be inaccurate.
On July 25th, the FBI produced another copy of the original memo, this time with less redactions. Both Johnson and Jordan allege that the FBI Richmond Field Office was not the only one involved, as stated by Director Wray.
In a press release, the committee wrote, “FBI Richmond Field Office coordinated with multiple FBI field offices across the country to produce the memo targeting traditional Catholics as potential domestic terrorists.”
Jordan and Johnson continued in a letter they authored to Director Wray, noting, “This revelation raises the question of why you redacted this information in previous versions of the document you produced to the Committee, and it reinforces the Committee’s need for all FBI material responsive to the April 10 subpoena, including the production of FBI’s Richmond document without redactions. We look forward to receiving a briefing on the FBI’s Internal review of this matter and to interview the Special Agent in Charge of the Richmond Field Office.
“We wrote to you on July 18 inviting you to correct the testimony you provided on July 12 related to the FBI’s role in the censorship of American speech. This new information raises additional concerns about the accuracy, completeness, and truthfulness of your testimony.”
The New York Post reached out to the FBI for comment and received a statement which said that Director Wray’s testimony was true and accurate.
According to the Post, the statement read, “Director Wray’s testimony on this matter has been accurate and consistent. While the document referred to information from other field office investigations of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremist (RMVE) subjects, that does not change the fact the product was produced by a single office. The FBI investigates violence, threats of violence, and violations of federal law. We do not conduct investigations based solely on religious affiliations or practices, or any other First Amendment protected activity.”
The FBI went further by stating the controversial memo “failed to meet FBI standards” and was “quickly removed from all FBI systems.”
The creation of the memo, it seems, was to investigate the potential for practicing Catholics to become radicalized to the point of becoming domestic terrorists over their beliefs, specifically concerning abortion, LGBTQ issues, and other politically charged topics. It appears this concern came after allegedly observing “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) in radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology” attending Catholic churches.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Republican Jim Jordan, and his counterpart on the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, Republican Mike Johnson, have been investigating the origins of an FBI memo, dated January 23rd of this year, titled, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”
According to Jordan, the committee is concerned the intent behind the memo was to target Catholics unjustly, thereby violating practicing Catholic's First Amendment rights.
After learning of the memo, the committees put forth requests to the FBI seeking information on who developed the memo and why it was written. This information was unclear due to many portions of the memo being redacted. In response, Director Wray provided sworn testimony that there was only one field office that had been involved in the memo, something Jordan and Johnson both now believe to be inaccurate.
On July 25th, the FBI produced another copy of the original memo, this time with less redactions. Both Johnson and Jordan allege that the FBI Richmond Field Office was not the only one involved, as stated by Director Wray.
In a press release, the committee wrote, “FBI Richmond Field Office coordinated with multiple FBI field offices across the country to produce the memo targeting traditional Catholics as potential domestic terrorists.”
Jordan and Johnson continued in a letter they authored to Director Wray, noting, “This revelation raises the question of why you redacted this information in previous versions of the document you produced to the Committee, and it reinforces the Committee’s need for all FBI material responsive to the April 10 subpoena, including the production of FBI’s Richmond document without redactions. We look forward to receiving a briefing on the FBI’s Internal review of this matter and to interview the Special Agent in Charge of the Richmond Field Office.
“We wrote to you on July 18 inviting you to correct the testimony you provided on July 12 related to the FBI’s role in the censorship of American speech. This new information raises additional concerns about the accuracy, completeness, and truthfulness of your testimony.”
The New York Post reached out to the FBI for comment and received a statement which said that Director Wray’s testimony was true and accurate.
According to the Post, the statement read, “Director Wray’s testimony on this matter has been accurate and consistent. While the document referred to information from other field office investigations of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremist (RMVE) subjects, that does not change the fact the product was produced by a single office. The FBI investigates violence, threats of violence, and violations of federal law. We do not conduct investigations based solely on religious affiliations or practices, or any other First Amendment protected activity.”
The FBI went further by stating the controversial memo “failed to meet FBI standards” and was “quickly removed from all FBI systems.”
The creation of the memo, it seems, was to investigate the potential for practicing Catholics to become radicalized to the point of becoming domestic terrorists over their beliefs, specifically concerning abortion, LGBTQ issues, and other politically charged topics. It appears this concern came after allegedly observing “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) in radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology” attending Catholic churches.
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