Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and a group of Senate Republicans sent a letter Thursday to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray demanding answers over an FBI Richmond memo that tied Catholic Christians to violent extremist views.
The Daily Caller first obtained the letter Grassley spearheaded and seven other Senate Republicans signed. In the letter, the lawmakers shed light on apparent contradictory statements Wray provided to Congress regarding the memo’s origins and the FBI’s continued refusal to provide information in response to congressional inquiries.
According to the lawmakers, “The FBI’s memo from the Bureau’s Richmond, Virginia Field Office inappropriately, and without evidence, relied upon blatantly biased and discredited sources to tie Catholic Christians to violent extremism based largely on their conservative political views on issues like, ‘abortion rights, immigration, affirmative action, and LGBTQ protections.'”
The Senate Republicans also mention Wray’s March 8, 2023, testimony before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, when he said the memo was “a product by one field office.” The lawmakers claim the statement conflicts with documents provided to the House Judiciary Committee.
READ THE LETTER HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“Director Wray needs to shoot straight with Congress and the American people by providing a full explanation about the origin of this outrageous memo and his congressional testimony. My colleagues and I won’t allow the FBI to pull the wool over Congress’s eyes while public faith in the agency continues to erode,” Grassley told the Caller before sending the letter. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Sens. Grassley And Hawley Call Out DHS For Allegedly Redacting Key Info About Disinformation Board)
In early August, the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Wray, saying the FBI Richmond Field Office coordinated with multiple FBI field offices across the country to produce the memo targeting Catholics as potential domestic terrorists. The House Republicans said Wray contradicted his July 12, 2023, testimony before their committee after testifying the FBI’s actions were limited to “a single field office.” (RELATED: Sen. Grassley, Rep. Comer Demand FBI Record Alleging ‘Criminal Scheme’ Involving Then-VP Biden)
The other Senate Republicans who signed the letter include Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Florida Sen. Rick Scott.
The FBI provided the following statement to the Daily Caller: “As we have said repeatedly, this product did not meet the FBI’s exacting standards and was quickly removed from FBI systems. There were failures in the production and approval of the document and we have taken corrective actions to ensure future products meet the highest professional standards, which include new training initiatives, heightened approval requirements for intelligence products, holding employees accountable, and updating policy and guidance. 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 continued. “To be clear: 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 FBI is committed to upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans. We investigate violence, threats of violence and violations of federal law. We do not conduct investigations based solely on First Amendment protected activity, including religious practices.”