by Eric Lendrum
On Tuesday, the FBI handed over requested documents on its efforts to target Catholic Americans after another threat from Congress to hold Director Christopher Wray in contempt.
As reported by the New York Post, Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, had subpoenaed the files in question and threatened to hold Wray in contempt of Congress if the documents were not delivered by the deadline of July 25th.
The documents that are now in the possession of the Judiciary Committee also deal with the FBI’s plans to crack down on the grassroots protest movement led by conservative voters and parents to hold public school boards accountable for far-left propaganda being included in their curriculum, among other grievances. The movement started in 2021 and became a nationwide phenomenon that has seen numerous conservative victories, from the flipping of many school boards to a Republican wave in Virginia in 2021.
More recently, the FBI had outlined plans in a since-retracted memo for infiltrating Catholic churches, as the bureau had come to see “radical-traditionalist Catholics” and pro-life Catholics as possible domestic terrorist threats.
Acting Assistant Director of the FBI Christopher Dunham, in a letter attached to the documents, pleaded with Jordan to not release the files publicly.
“The production of this information to the Committee does not waive any applicable privileges or other protections,” said Dunham in his letter. “We respectfully request that the Committee not disseminate or otherwise disclose these documents without prior consultation with the FBI.”
The FBI had previously faced another contempt-of-Congress threat after Director Wray initially refused to hand over an FD-1023 form, filed by a confidential informant, alleging that Joe and Hunter Biden had each been paid $5 million in bribes by the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings during the Obama Administration. Only after the House Oversight Committee threatened to hold Wray in contempt did he give them access to the document, which has since been released by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
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Eric Lendrum reports for American Greatness.
