GOP Senators Demand FBI Explain Deletion of Records on Memo Targeting ‘Radical’ Catholics

The memo referred to ‘radical-traditionalist Catholics’ and claimed ’a growing overlap‘ between them and ’the far-right white nationalist movement.’

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the House (Select) Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 31, 2024. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

A group of 16 Republican U.S. senators is calling on the FBI to explain the decisions that led to the deletion of records connected to a since-retracted agency memo describing the FBI’s interest in investigating strains of “radical-traditionalist” Catholicism for potential ties to extremism.

The FBI memo in question, which was produced by the agency’s Richmond Field Office, was divulged to the press last year before it was retracted last February. While the memo has been retracted, Republican lawmakers have continued to question the internal processes at the FBI that allowed for its creation in the first place.