Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Chuck Grassley in leading 14 Republican senators in a reignited push for answers upon discovering new details and discrepancies surrounding an anti-Catholic memo prepared by analysts in the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia field office.
Joining Senators Scott and Grassley are Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
Read more from Senator Grassley’s office below.
Grassley Leads Colleagues in Demanding ‘Coherent and Complete Response’ on Anti-Catholic FBI Richmond Memo
Senators seek action and accountability following FBI’s misleading testimony and deficient investigation
WASHINGTON – Upon discovering new details and discrepancies surrounding an anti-Catholic memo prepared by analysts in the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia field office, Senate Judiciary Committee member and former chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is leading 15 Republican senators in a reignited push for answers.
In a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Grassley and his colleagues are scrutinizing revelations that top FBI officials ordered analysts to permanently delete files related to the internal memo. Any document destruction would hinder the FBI’s already insufficient internal investigation and obstruct congressional oversight.
The senators are also pressing Wray about the accuracy of his congressional testimony that the memo was “a single product by a single field office.” This statement conflicts with information the FBI has since provided Grassley and the House Judiciary Committee, which confirmed not only that multiple field offices contributed, but also, that an analyst responsible for the first anti-Catholic memo prepared a second one for distribution to the entire FBI.
“The fact an FBI office produced even one discriminatory document like this — let alone two — is deeply troubling. It’s unfathomable the agency’s response has been to cut corners, dodge questions and stiff-arm Congress. From where I’m sitting, it seems like the FBI is working to sweep the issue under the rug rather than address it,” Grassley said of the letter.
For months, the FBI used its ongoing internal review of the document as an excuse to shirk congressional oversight. Now that the review has concluded, Grassley and his colleagues are raising concerns about its narrow scope. Their letter outlines necessary actions and thorough review procedures the FBI must take to foster needed transparency and accountability.
Joining Grassley are Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
Read the senators’ letter HERE.