The House Judiciary Committee on Monday revealed new details about the FBI Field Office in Richmond’s plan to spy on Catholic churches and church leaders, including that the plan was distributed to other FBI offices across the country.
The FBI internal document revealed the bureau relied on information derived from at least one undercover operative who sought to use local religious organizations as “new avenues for tripwire and source development,” the committee said.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, on Monday sent a subpoena to FBI Director Christopher Wray demanding all documents related to the targeting of Catholic churches.“The FBI received the subpoena. The FBI recognizes the importance of congressional oversight and remains fully committed to cooperating with Congress’s oversight requests consistent with its constitutional and statutory responsibilities,” the bureau said in a statement to The Washington Times.
“Let me say that when I first learned of the piece, I was aghast. And we took steps immediately to withdraw it and remove it from FBI systems. It does not reflect FBI standards. We do not conduct investigations based on religious affiliation or practices, full stop,” he told lawmakers. “It was a product by one field office, which of course we have scores and scores of these products, and when we found out about it, we took action,” said Mr. Wray.
The FBI similarly noted two other opportunities to engage in outreach with religious institutions in the Richmond area, citing a desire “to sensitize the congregation to the warning signs of radicalization and enlist their assistance to serve as suspicious activity tripwires,” according to the Judiciary Committee.
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