In a bombshell letter delivered June 2, 2025, Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) has launched a full-scale assault on the Federal Bureau of Investigation, accusing the agency’s previous leadership of an elaborate cover-up surrounding a controversial memo that allegedly targeted “radical-traditionalist Catholics.”
In a scathing indictment of former Director Christopher Wray’s tenure, Grassley’s communication to new FBI Director Kash Patel details a pattern of obfuscation, misleading testimony, and alleged obstruction that has kept Congress in the dark for over two years.
At the heart of the firestorm is the “Domain Perspective” memo, penned by the FBI’s Richmond field office, which sensationally claimed “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists” (RMVEs) were increasingly interested in “radical-traditionalist Catholic” (RTC) ideology.
What makes this memo particularly explosive, according to Grassley, is its reliance on the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization the Senator dismisses as “deeply-biased” and “thoroughly-discredited,” to identify “hate groups.”
READ: Family Of Colorado Attack Suspect Detained, Faces Deportation “Final Boarding Call Coming Soon”
“I’m determined to get to the bottom of the Richmond memo, and of the FBI’s contempt for oversight in the last administration,” Senator Grassley declared in his letter, signaling a relentless pursuit of accountability under the new FBI leadership.
New Evidence Unearths a Web of Deception:
Recent FBI productions, obtained by Grassley’s office starting in March 2025, have blown wide open the agency’s previous narrative, revealing a disturbing disconnect between official statements and internal realities:
“Single Product” Claim Debunked: Despite former Director Wray’s repeated assurances to Congress that the Richmond memo was merely “a single product by a single field office,” newly surfaced documents reveal a far more extensive reach. The memo was, in fact, widely disseminated across FBI field offices nationwide even before a whistleblower brought it to public light. An email from the Buffalo, NY, field office even shows agents discussing concerns about SPLC-identified “RTC Hate Groups” in their jurisdiction, based on the very memo Wray downplayed.
READ: Biden Lashes Out At CNN Anchor Jake Tapper, Reporter Alex Thompson Amid Book Release
A Network of “Anti-Catholic” Documents? The FBI’s own internal search, initiated the day the Richmond memo became public, uncovered “13 documents and 5 attachments” that used the term “radical traditionalist Catholic.” Shockingly, these reports also leaned on the SPLC as a source. Grassley is now demanding the immediate release of these documents, alongside any other reports linking religious groups to violent extremism based on what he calls “biased sources.”
The Unveiling of Delays and Deception: Grassley alleges a calculated strategy of obstruction by the previous FBI leadership. Internal FBI analyses, completed as early as February 2023, meticulously detailed the Richmond memo’s failure to meet established analytical tradecraft standards. Yet, this crucial information was withheld from the Senate for a staggering seven months, only surfacing during a September 2023 briefing. This deliberate delay, Grassley argues, allowed Director Wray to repeatedly evade questions in congressional testimony by falsely claiming internal reviews were “ongoing.”
More Than Just a Memo: A Draft External Report: Further eroding Wray’s “single product” defense, evidence now points to the existence of a second, draft product on the same topic – a Strategic Perspective Executive Analytic Report (SPEAR). This separate document, intended for wider distribution across the entire Bureau and reviewed by the Counterterrorism Division, also drew an “unfounded link” between traditional Catholicism and violent extremism, concluding that “RMVE interest in RTCs is likely to increase…”
READ: SCOTUS Stalemate Slams Door On Oklahoma Catholic Charter School Funding
The “Pull Down” Order: A Digital Purge? Perhaps most alarming are revelations concerning the alleged deletion of files related to the memo. Then-FBI-Deputy-Director Paul Abbate reportedly ordered the “permanent removal of the memorandum, as well as any edits or references, from all FBI systems” on the very day the memo became public.
Despite previous FBI assurances that deleted files could be recovered, none have materialized. An FBI production further indicates an order to “pull down” an Excel document tracking users who accessed the memo, raising serious questions about the intent behind these actions.
Senator Grassley is demanding swift action from Director Patel, calling for the immediate unredaction of critical information, a thorough search for all deletion instructions, and a full explanation for these actions, including whether they were aimed at denying information to Congress or internal investigators.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Connect with us: Follow the Tampa Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for breaking news and updates.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
