Newly released FBI documents reveal that efforts by the bureau during the Biden administration to monitor and assess traditionalist Catholic communities were significantly more widespread and coordinated than previously acknowledged — directly contradicting former FBI Director Christopher Wray’s sworn congressional testimony.
The revelations, disclosed by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), stem from internal FBI records related to the controversial 2023 “Richmond memo.” That document, originating from the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia field office, warned of an alleged threat posed by “radical traditionalist Catholic ideology.” The memo was based in part on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) controversial designations of certain conservative religious groups as “hate groups.”
Wray had previously insisted under oath that the Richmond memo was an isolated incident — a single product of one field office that never led to wider FBI operations. However, the documents obtained by Grassley tell a different story.
According to the newly released materials, the FBI internally identified at least 13 separate documents and five additional attachments that used similar language referring to “radical traditionalist Catholics.” The existence of these documents, along with a second unpublished memo, points to a broader internal effort to assess and categorize elements of Catholic communities through a counterterrorism lens.
“These documents show that the FBI’s actions weren’t limited to a rogue analyst in Richmond,” Grassley said in a statement accompanying his findings. “This was a coordinated, multi-office effort that relied on discredited sources and targeted Americans for their religious beliefs.”
Widespread Collaboration Across Field Offices
The Richmond memo’s development involved consultation with at least three other FBI field offices — Louisville, Milwaukee, and Portland. Analysts from these offices exchanged emails and participated in phone calls with Richmond-based agents, discussing Catholic traditionalist beliefs and comparing them to forms of religious extremism.
In one particularly concerning revelation, an internal presentation informed by the Louisville office reportedly compared traditionalist Catholic beliefs to “Islamist ideology,” echoing rhetoric typically reserved for identifying potential terrorism threats.
While some agents raised alarms over the use of SPLC data — particularly from the Milwaukee and Phoenix offices — the internal critique appears to have had little effect. One Milwaukee agent explicitly called the reliance on SPLC designations “problematic,” but there’s no indication that concern was formally addressed before the memo’s completion.
FBI personnel in Buffalo, New York were also drawn into the conversation. Emails show agents there discussing “hate groups” identified in the Richmond memo that allegedly operated in their jurisdiction, though the identities of these groups remain unclear.
A Second Memo and Evidence of Record Deletions
Grassley’s findings also confirm the existence of a second anti-Catholic memo — one that was never released due to public backlash over the Richmond memo. This document, reportedly a Strategic Perspective Executive Analytic Report, would have required coordination with the FBI’s counterterrorism division and been circulated more broadly had it been finalized.
Even more troubling to congressional investigators is the FBI’s handling of internal records related to the Richmond memo. Grassley alleges that following public exposure of the memo in early 2023, then-Deputy Director Paul Abbate ordered the removal of related materials from FBI systems — a decision that led to the loss of key documentation regarding the memo’s origins and scope.
“The deletion of records at a time when Congress was demanding transparency raises serious questions about obstruction,” Grassley said. “We need to understand whether those actions were taken to hide misconduct or to prevent congressional oversight.”
Contradictions in Wray’s Testimony
Former Director Wray’s previous testimony now appears to contradict the facts revealed in the internal records. Wray had claimed under oath that the involvement of other field offices was minimal and that the memo’s content did not spark any actual investigative activity. He downplayed the exchange of information as merely confirming the accuracy of a few sentences.
“The only involvement of the two other field offices was the Richmond authors...asking, ‘hey, did we describe your case right?’” Wray told Grassley during a hearing. “That’s all the other offices had.”
Grassley now says this version of events is misleading at best, and possibly deceptive. Wray also failed to disclose the existence of additional FBI documents using anti-Catholic terminology, further eroding the credibility of his statements to Congress.
FBI Response and Next Steps
When asked for comment, an FBI spokesperson acknowledged receipt of Grassley’s latest letter but declined further comment on the matter.
Senator Grassley is now calling on new FBI Director Kash Patel — who recently succeeded Wray and has pledged to restore transparency and rebuild public trust — to fully disclose all records related to the Richmond memo and Wray’s congressional testimony. Patel has committed to cooperating with oversight efforts and to investigate potential anti-religious bias within the bureau.
“I look forward to working with Director Patel to ensure the FBI is held accountable,” Grassley said. “Justice must be blind — to religion, to politics, and to ideology. Anything less undermines the core of our constitutional system.”
The findings add to growing concern among lawmakers and religious liberty advocates about the politicization of federal law enforcement and the risk of targeting Americans based on constitutionally protected beliefs.
