Topline
House Republicans issued a subpoena to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday asking him to testify about a leaked FBI plan to monitor “radical-traditionalist” Catholics for potential violence, a plan that Wray said “does not reflect FBI standards,” in the latest GOP move to investigate culture war issues as part of its ongoing review of the so-called weaponization of the federal government.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Intelligence … [+]
Key Facts
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent a letter to Wray on Monday admonishing him for a “substandard” response to earlier requests for information, demanding a full slate of unredacted documents relating to the FBI’s monitoring of Catholics.
The purportedly limited information the FBI has turned over shows the Bureau “relied on at least one undercover agent” to monitor Catholics and allegedly sought to develop sources within “mainline Catholic parishes” to identify the potential emergence of radical threats, according to Jordan’s letter.
The plan to involve mainstream Catholics comes in addition to monitoring fringe groups like the Society of Saint Pius X—an organization whose members largely reject the teachings of recent popes—which was revealed in a leaked January memo circulated by the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia, office and published by a hard-right news outlet.
Jordan’s letter stated the plan was “reviewed and approved by two senior intelligence analysts and even the local Chief Division Counsel” and was also distributed to FBI offices around the country, though it is unclear “how many FBI employees explored ‘new avenues for tripwire and source development’ in Catholic houses of worship.”
The FBI said in a statement it “remains fully committed to cooperating” with the investigation and referred Forbes to comments Wray made last month, saying the document went against “FBI standards” and it “took steps immediately to withdraw it and remove it from FBI systems.”
Crucial Quote
“This information is outrageous and only reinforces the Committee’s need for all FBI material responsive to our request,” Jordan said.
Key Background
Republicans have seized on the document as evidence of what they claim is an ongoing push by the federal government to investigate benign conservative groups, like gun owners and parents who opposed mask mandates in schools. In particular, some GOP lawmakers criticized the Department of Justice in 2021 for pushing to investigate threats against teachers and school board members. The GOP has made probes of culture war issues a top priority since taking control of the House in the midterm elections, in line with party leaders’ campaign promises. One of the first actions of the newly minted GOP House was to create a panel—under Jordan’s purview—to investigate the “weaponization of the federal government,” which has the power to access top-level FBI and CIA records. The House GOP has since launched investigations into big tech companies’ alleged censorship of conservative views, the Justice Department’s handling of a probe into President Joe Biden’s potential mishandling of classified documents and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump, among other matters. Republicans have faced some pushback over this gambit: Bragg rebuffed Republican lawmakers’ demands for testimony last month, calling their investigation an “unlawful incursion into New York’s sovereignty.”
Contra
Republicans have a history of supporting government surveillance of religious institutions. The New York Police Department sent police officers into mosques under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was a Republican for his first five years as mayor before leaving the party. Trump also called for monitoring American Muslims during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Further Reading
Republicans Launch House Committee To Investigate FBI—Including Agency’s Handling Of Trump (Forbes)
Biden Classified Docs: House Republicans Launch Investigation Into Records (Forbes)
GOP Rep Jim Jordan Will Hold Judiciary Hearing In NYC Over Manhattan District Attorney’s Alleged ‘Victims’ (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2023/04/10/fbi-director-subpoenaed-by-house-gop-over-monitoring-traditionalist-catholics/