A new Justice Department report says the FBI went beyond its controversial Richmond memo on traditional Catholics, investigating two priests through surveillance-related activity and financial checks even though neither was ultimately found to have committed wrongdoing.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A newly released Justice Department report says the FBI investigated two Catholic priests as part of a Biden-era effort examining whether some traditional Catholics could pose an extremist threat, expanding scrutiny of a case that had previously centered on a controversial memo produced by the bureau’s Richmond Field Office.
The DOJ Weaponization Working Group released its findings Friday, concluding that the bureau engaged in improper and unjustified investigative and intelligence activity.
According to the report, the FBI conducted surveillance-related activity and credit card checks involving two priests who were related to one another.
One of the priests had contact with a convicted felon who was making violent threats, prompting the bureau’s interest.
Neither priest was found to have engaged in wrongdoing, the report said.
The investigation grew out of the same episode that produced an internal Richmond Field Office memo linking certain forms of traditional Catholicism to potential extremist activity.
That memo attempted to connect “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists” with what it described as “radical-traditionalist Catholic” ideology.
The FBI document distinguished between traditional Catholics generally and those it labeled RTC adherents, whom it characterized as embracing “antisemitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and white supremacist ideology.”
The new DOJ review found that FBI personnel continued working on the matter even after bureau leadership ordered the Richmond memo destroyed.
The 231-page report said investigators relied in part on biased and unverified sources without adequately evaluating the credibility of the materials.
The Weaponization Working Group concluded that the conduct crossed acceptable boundaries for federal law enforcement and intelligence activity.
“This Department of Justice will not tolerate a weaponized bureaucracy that chills First Amendment activity,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “The individuals who developed the Richmond Domain Perspective are no longer with the Department, and our Working Group’s efforts to investigate weaponization under the previous Administration will continue.”
The report offers new details about the scope of the FBI’s actions beyond the drafting and circulation of the Richmond document.
Investigators examined the two priests because of family ties and the contact one of them had with the convicted felon, but the inquiry did not produce evidence that either clergyman had committed an offense.
The findings have renewed concerns about whether religious beliefs and associations were improperly used as a basis for federal investigative activity.
The Trump administration said the report is part of a broader effort to identify and correct politically motivated conduct inside federal agencies.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year directing the government to eliminate political weaponization throughout the federal bureaucracy.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau would not permit similar conduct under his leadership.
“Weaponization will never be tolerated at this FBI,” Patel said. “Even while those who developed the unacceptable Richmond Catholic memo under the previous administration have been held accountable, releasing information to the public about what occurred under the prior regime is an important part of the process.”
The Justice Department said the employees responsible for developing the Richmond Domain Perspective are no longer with the department.
The Working Group also said its broader review of alleged weaponization during the previous administration remains ongoing.
The Richmond memo had already generated national controversy because of its attempt to associate a subset of traditional Catholic belief with extremist ideology.
Friday’s report adds another layer to the controversy by showing that the FBI’s actions extended beyond internal analysis and into investigative activity involving individual priests.
The DOJ concluded that those actions were not adequately justified and were based in part on material that had not been properly vetted.
The Trump administration says it now intends to use the findings to prevent similar investigations from being launched in the future based on political or religious associations protected by the First Amendment.
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