Madison Reporter

Catholic Vote has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Department of Justice, saying in a statement the agencies “have failed to provide the records requested under FOIA which relate to the Bureau’s targeting of Catholics.”

“Our weaponized and corrupt government agencies have demonstrated a pattern of contempt for justice and the rule of law by prioritizing partisan ideology and agendas over the protection of the American people – in particular those with whom they disagree politically,” said Brian Burch, president of Catholic Vote, based in Madison, Wis. “We are demanding transparency from our government and are determined to uncover just how high up the anti-Catholic bigotry goes.”

On January 23, 2023, the FBI’s Richmond Field Office published a memo called, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”

The memo was leaked to the public on the website UncoverDC, which is run by former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin. National Review reports Seraphin was a special agent at the bureau for six years before he was indefinitely suspended without pay in June 2022.”

In a February 16 letter to FBI Director Christopher Way, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chair of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, said the memo was an “official document that linked ‘racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) with a ‘radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology.” 

“In this document, the FBI purported to distinguish what it called ‘traditional Catholics’ from the disfavored RTC adherents, who the FBI characterized as embracing ‘anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and white supremacist ideology,” wrote Jordan. 

Jordan sent another letter to Wray on March 20 after “receiving no response” from the FBI.  

On April 10, Jordan sent an additional letter to Wray, accompanied by a tweet, saying, “We now know the FBI, relying on information derived from at least one undercover employee, sought to use local religious organizations as ‘new avenues for tripwire and source development.’ Chilling.”  

Catholic Vote said it sent a March 8 FOIA request to the FBI and DOJ asking for more records pertaining to the leaked memo. 

“Even though FOIA norms require agencies to respond within 20 business days, with an additional 10 for ‘unusual circumstances,’ over a month has passed and to date the FBI and DOJ have failed to produce the requested records or even communicate whether they plan to comply with the requests,” said Catholic Vote in a statement.

"Joe Biden and his Attorney General Garland are ignoring the very laws they are required to enforce," said former Congressman Tim Huelskamp, Ph.D. (R-Kan), senior advisor to Catholic Vote. “Their clear violation of transparency laws furthers the very real concerns and fears of Catholics across this country that the Biden regime is targeting us for what we believe. This is unconstitutional and un-American."

The lawsuit, jointly filed with Judicial Watch, asks the Court to “order Defendants to conduct a search for any and all records responsive to Plaintiffs’ FOIA requests and demonstrate that it employed search methods reasonably likely to lead to the discovery of records responsive” to the FOIA requests.