FBI Wants to Deny Catholic Advocacy Group Access to Spying Records

Back in February, PJ Media told you about the FBI’s efforts to spy on traditional Catholics. The news broke after an agency memo from the Richmond, Va., field office was leaked to the public. The memo had the rather lengthy title of “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”

You can read the original memo published by UncoverDC.com here. One of the sources used in creating the memo was the Southern Poverty Law Center, which until very recently was not considered by the FBI to be credible.

CatholicVote, which is a political advocacy group, wanted to see the details of that investigation. According to the group’s website, it filed a FOIA request in March, which gave the FBI 20 days to respond. Citing “unusual circumstances,” the agency requested an additional 10 days. The information was never produced.

CatholicVote filed a lawsuit to which the FBI was legally obligated to respond. When the time on that clock ran out, the agency requested another 30 days. The judge granted the extra time over the objections of CatholicVote. Last Friday, the FBI stated that the group was not entitled to the information. A judge has set a briefing schedule for the two sides to meet and discuss what the next steps will be.

CatholicVote is accusing the FBI of hiding behind the provision that allows federal agencies to protect “sensitive documents.” It commented on its site:

NOT BACKING DOWN: CatholicVote and our lawyers at Judicial Watch are prepared to litigate this matter to the end. We’re willing to play the long game, too. We believe Americans — and especially Catholics — have every right to know what led to the decision to authorize spying on Catholics in church!

Don’t forget, Attorney General Merrick Garland has repeatedly said he was “appalled” by this memo. And he promised Congress that there is “no bias” against Catholics whatsoever inside the Department of Justice.

The group also provided a video of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) taking FBI Director Christopher Wray to task over the memo. Actually, “dismantling” would be a better word.

Wray is playing the same game with Jordan that the FBI is playing with CatholicVote: we need more time to eventually tell you that what we learned is none of your business. But Jordan made it clear that the motivation for the investigation was politics. Jordan knows it, CatholicVote knows it, and the FBI knows it. And so do the rest of us.