FBI director standoffish to Judiciary Committee: Johnson
Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., called on FBI Director Christopher Wray to correct his testimony during an appearance on "Sunday Night in America."
House Republicans say FBI documents they've obtained prove that several field offices contributed to a memo that targeted traditionalist Catholics as "potential terrorists," conflicting with recent sworn testimony from FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Republican leadership on the House Judiciary Committee revealed in a letter sent to Wray on Wednesday that said the document they subpoenaed from the agency details how "both FBI Portland and FBI Los Angeles field offices were involved in or contributed to the creation of FBI’s assessment of traditional Catholics as potential domestic terrorists."
"This new information suggests that the FBI’s use of its law enforcement capabilities to intrude on American’s First Amendment rights is more widespread than initially suspected," Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and co-chair Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote in the letter.
The information also contradicts Wray's congressional testimony that the FBI's anti-Catholic initiative was "a single product by a single field office."
FBI UNDER PRESSURE AS SENATE, HOUSE MEMBERS SEEK ANSWERS FOR ’DISCRIMINATORY' ANTI-CATHOLIC MEMO
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before Congress. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The FBI Richmond internal memo, titled "Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities," was leaked in January and drew instant criticism from Republicans.
It identified "radical-traditionalist Catholic[s]" as potential "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists" and said that "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) in radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology almost certainly presents opportunities for threat mitigation through the exploration of new avenues for tripwire and source development."
Following the leak of the memo, the FBI told Fox News Digital that "headquarters quickly began taking action to remove the document from FBI systems and conduct a review of the basis for the document."
Jordan and Johnson wrote Wednesday that for months the committee sought information relating to that memo but that the FBI failed to voluntarily comply with their request.
On July 25, the FBI produced a version of the Richmond document with fewer redactions than the two previous versions it provided, the lawmakers said.
FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on July 12, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Republicans say the new version with fewer redactions makes it clear that investigations into Catholic organizations in Los Angeles and Portland fed into the Richmond office memo.
"Most concerning of all the newly produced version of the document explicitly states that FBI Richmond ‘[c]oordinated with’ FBI Portland in preparing the assessment," the lawmakers wrote.
"Thus, it appears that both FBI Portland and FBI Los Angeles field offices were involved in or contributed to the creation of FBI’s assessment of traditional Catholics as potential domestic terrorists," they said.
"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 redaction," the lawmakers said.
The FBI in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Wednesday disputed the Republicans' assertions that Wray's testimony contradicted their findings in the new version of they document they subpoenaed:
"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."
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images)
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 agency said.
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"To be clear," the FBI said, "the document was a domain perspective which is an intelligence product designed to address potential threats in a particular area—in this case, the Richmond Field Office’s area of responsibility. Because the product failed to meet FBI standards, it was quickly removed from all FBI systems and a review was launched to determine how it was produced in the first place."
The Republicans are asking for even more documentation on communications with the Richmond, Los Angeles and Portland field offices on the memo, all intelligence gathered based on the memo, among other things, and they gave the agency until Aug. 23 to respond.
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