FBI Director Christopher Wray is under fire for alleged inconsistencies in his testimony about a controversial anti-Catholic memo that was circulated within the bureau.
Wray testified last month that only “a single field office” from the bureau investigated traditional Catholics as potential domestic terrorists, but the top official may have lied under oath after House GOP lawmakers discovered multiple field offices nationwide were involved in producing the anti-Catholic memo.
The FBI Director told the House Judiciary Committee that — after a document reliant on ideologically driven criteria from left-wing sources like the Southern Poverty Law Center explicitly pointed toward “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists in radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology” leaked from the FBI Richmond Field Office — he immediately had the memo purged from the bureau’s system.
But just two weeks after Wray gave congressional testimony, lawmakers subpoenaed the FBI to produce the Richmond document with fewer redactions They found that it showed the agency allegedly coordinated with a liaison contact in the FBI’s Portland Field Office and reporting from the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
“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 and reveals inconsistencies with your previous testimony before the Committee,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who chairs the committee, wrote in his letter to Wray.
“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 and reveals inconsistencies with your previous testimony before the Committee,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who chairs the committee, wrote in his letter to Wray.
The Daily Wire reported that “Jordan called the memo “chilling” and issued a subpoena after the documents revealed the FBI planned to use churches as “new avenues for tripwire and source development,” which churchgoers fear sent a message that federal law enforcement may be listening while Americans practice their First Amendment right to worship freely.”
#BREAKING: Subpoenaed document reveals that the FBI Richmond Field Office coordinated with MULTIPLE field offices across the country to produce a memo targeting traditional Catholics as domestic terrorists
Wray previously said the actions were limited to “a single field office.” pic.twitter.com/5vyS2EXpml
— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) August 9, 2023
