Judiciary Committee Alleges Former FBI Leadership Misled Congress and Abused Federal Power to Spy on Catholics
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report released by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee accuses the FBI under President Joe Biden and former Director Christopher Wray of manufacturing a false narrative that labeled traditionalist Catholic Americans as “violent extremists.” The report details extensive FBI surveillance of Catholics, contradicting previous sworn testimony and exposing what lawmakers are calling an egregious abuse of power and religious discrimination.
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The 2023 “Richmond memorandum” from the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, which drew public outrage for branding so-called “radical traditionalist Catholics” as threats, was not a one-off mistake, the Committee’s findings suggest. Instead, the report shows that the memorandum was part of a broader pattern within the FBI, spanning over a decade, in which internal documents regularly used derogatory language to describe faithful Catholics—often citing the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as justification.
Among the most damning revelations:
- FBI agents interviewed a Catholic priest connected to an individual under investigation. When the priest refused to divulge confidential information, the FBI surveilled the priest and launched a formal “investigative assessment” against him.
- The FBI coordinated with both domestic and international field offices, including the FBI’s London office, to collect intelligence on the priest.
- Documents revealed at least 13 internal FBI materials between 2009 and 2023 referencing terms like “Radical-Traditionalist Catholic,” relying on SPLC materials for support.
- The FBI even considered violating priest-penitent privilege on the rationale that the individual seeking spiritual guidance hadn’t yet been baptized or completed catechism.
“These findings expose a troubling pattern of religious profiling and misuse of federal law enforcement power under the Biden administration,” the Committee stated in a press release.
New FBI Director Kash Patel, who assumed leadership earlier this year, has cooperated with the investigation and delivered over 1,300 previously undisclosed pages related to the Richmond memo. In contrast, the report alleges that the Biden-Wray FBI intentionally withheld key documents from Congress despite subpoenas issued since the start of the 118th Congress.
House Republicans argue the report adds to a growing body of evidence that federal agencies were weaponized against law-abiding Americans for their religious beliefs. The Committee says its investigation will continue under Director Patel’s tenure, with the goal of crafting legislative reforms that protect religious liberty from future government overreach.
The full report, titled “How the Biden-Wray FBI Manufactured a False Narrative of Catholic Americans as Violent Extremists”, is available here
