Jim Jordan and Christopher Wray Battle Over Leaked FBI Memo Relating ‘Traditional Catholics’ To Domestic Extremism

Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) clashed with FBI Director Christopher Wray over a leaked agency memo that related traditional Catholics to domestic extremists and allegedly sought to recruit informants inside the church.

Jordan interrogated Wray during an committee appearance on Wednesday over a leaked internal intelligence memo from the FBI’s Richmond Field Office that claimed white supremacists had found their way into the Catholic church.

Wray told the Ohio representative that he was “aghast” by the report and the FBI was conducting an internal review into the matter.

“Director, what’s the difference between a traditional Catholic and a radical, traditional Catholic,” Jordan asked Wray.

“Well, what I can tell you is you’re referring to the Richmond product, which is a single product by a single field office, which as soon as I found out about it, I was aghast and ordered it withdrawn and removed from FBI systems,” the FBI director responded.

Jordan then demanded Wray provide the names of the FBI employees responsible for drafting the memo. Wray told the committee that the agency was conducting an internal review and would brief lawmakers later this summer when the investigation likely concludes.

The Republican firebrand read from a redacted version of the memo that discussed recruiting confidential sources within the church to combat extremism.

“Let me just read from page four, ‘Provide new opportunities to mitigate extremist threat through outreach to traditional Catholic parishes and the development of sources with the placement and access to report on places of worship.’ That’s pretty fancy language for they’re trying to put informants in the parish, in the church. That’s what this memorandum said, director, from one of your field offices,” Jordan told Wray. “And you won’t let us talk to the people who did it.”

Wray assured the committee that the FBI does “not recruit, open or operate confidential human sources to infiltrate, target, report on religious organizations” before adding, “that product did not to the best we can tell result in any investigative action as a result of it. None.”

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