Fox’s first – Following a series of errors surrounding the source of an anti-Catholic memo targeting traditional Catholics as potential “terrorists,” a group of Republican senators has asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to “repair the damage” to its credibility. ”.
The memo, which has since been retracted by its authors at the FBI’s Richmond field office, was the focus of congressional oversight efforts and hearings last year, drawing heavy criticism from Republican lawmakers.
In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Lindsey Graham (R.C.) said: and 14 of his colleagues called on FBI Director Christopher Wray to provide the Senate with a “consistent and complete requested that a response be taken.
“We write about how the FBI withheld information requested by members related to the now-infamous Richmond Memo and misled the FBI with the little information it did provide,” the senators wrote. wrote.
Republicans say multiple FBI officials contributed anti-Catholic memo to refute Wray’s testimony
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“We recently learned that the FBI has permanently deleted important records related to the memo, and that one of the authors of the Richmond memo has worked with headquarters to prepare a second external report, and that We also learned that it was intended to be distributed to all FBI employees,” they said.
According to the lawmakers, the FBI “for months used its internal investigation into the Richmond memo as an excuse not to provide records or answer questions from members of Congress.”
“Even though what we now know was a very narrow internal investigation limited to only specific aspects of this single internal analyst report, the FBI “We have repeatedly ignored requests from members of Congress for records that would enable us to do so, including those repeatedly made by the FBI,” said Charles Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. “We were unable to fulfill Commissioner Lindsey Graham’s request for March 1, 2023,” the letter states.
Ranking Members will receive copies of communications between the intelligence analysts who drafted the Richmond memo and superiors involved in that report, an unredacted copy of the Domain Perspective Memo, and anything published within the FBI or Department of Justice. requested a copy of the report from the authorities. Anyone who has claimed association with violent extremism within the past five years with primarily religious or conservative groups or groups.
Lawmakers cited a report released by the House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 4 that said, “Information related to the Richmond memo was not provided to Congress because the FBI deleted records as soon as the incident became public. I understand,” he said. In it, Deputy Director Paul Abbate told Richmond Special Agent in Charge Stanley Medall, “ [the memo] Down” as soon as it became public.
FBI questions priest, church choir director over anti-Catholic memo, House Republicans discover
Senator Chuck Grassley (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Meador said he then received a “follow-up call” from FBI Deputy Director of Intelligence Tanya Ugolets, who ordered him to notify the deputy director and Ugolets. [he] “We have taken the necessary steps to remove the memorandum and all references to it from FBI systems,” the senators wrote.
“The FBI must immediately explain its order to delete records related to this case, which not only impedes Congressional oversight but also exposes the FBI to the possibility that the FBI’s internal investigation itself provided important information about the case. “This means that certain documents were not accessible. The FBI must also explain why it withheld this information from the Senate despite repeated requests for the records,” they said.
The senators said that based on currently available information, Wray’s claim under oath to Congress that the memo was “a single work product by a single field office” was “misleading.” “Other offices contributed significantly to the memo.”
Heavily redacted records show FBI targeting of Catholics went beyond claims: Watchdog
Senator Lindsey Graham speaks at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s executive business meeting in Washington, DC on November 9, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“Despite its obvious flaws, the internal memo was approved by FBI officials, including the Chief Counsel and the Special Agent in Charge (SAC),” the senators wrote.
“In fact, the FBI’s October 27 letter indicated that a total of seven people were involved in drafting, reviewing, and approving the memo,” they said.
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“That such a flawed product was reviewed by seven FBI employees and a senior investigator is evidence of a cultural problem at the FBI that goes far beyond a single report,” they said. “This broader crisis in FBI leadership is part of an ongoing pattern of federal law enforcement weaponizing against civilians, of which we have warned at length, and which the FBI This must be addressed,” they said.
The FBI has until February 14 to respond to senators.
The FBI told FOX News Digital that it has never targeted Catholics and does not target Catholics.
“Any suggestion that the FBI is targeting Catholics is false,” the bureau said in a statement. “As the FBI has stated numerous times, this intelligence product did not meet our stringent standards and was immediately removed from FBI systems. The director was accurate in testifying that this included several people.” An internal investigation conducted by the FBI found that there was no malicious intent to target Catholics or members of any other religion, and that there was no malicious intent to target Catholics or members of any other religion. No investigative action was identified. “Dedicated to defending the constitutional rights of all Americans, we do not base our investigations solely on activities protected by the First Amendment, including religious practices. The FBI investigates violence, threats of violence, and violations of federal law. We have hundreds of pages of documents and information on our findings and the numerous steps we are taking to address identified deficiencies. We will hold a briefing session in Congress to take up the measures.”
In testimony before Congress on December 5, 2023, FBI Director Christopher Wray disputed claims that the memo was the product of multiple agencies. “So, Senator, I think this idea that other field offices are involved is false. Let me explain why I say that. The only involvement of the other two field offices is that the product Richmond’s author and it included two sentences or something related to it, mentioning each of the other firm’s cases and giving them sentences about the other firm’s cases rather than the entire product. Send it in and say, “Hey, did I explain your case correctly? That’s all the other offices had. So it’s a single field office product, and I stand by that.”
