FBI Fires Five Analysts Who Produced Flawed 2023 Memo Targeting Radical Traditionalist Catholics
The analysts helped draft an internal memo later withdrawn for standards failures. The firings follow earlier removals of personnel linked to Trump-related cases.
catholicnewsagency.comThe FBI has fired at least five analysts who helped create a 2023 internal intelligence memo on "Radical Traditionalist Catholic" ideology, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. The memo, produced by the FBI's Richmond field office, examined possible links between ethnically motivated violent extremists and radical Catholic views.
It was withdrawn under former FBI Director Chris Wray after an internal review found no evidence of malicious intent by its drafters.
That same review concluded the memo failed to meet proper standards and contained errors in professional judgment. The FBI responded by implementing corrective actions to strengthen approval processes for intelligence products, and the employees involved were admonished.
A separate review by the Justice Department's then-inspector general found no evidence that anyone had ordered the analysts to link violent extremists to specific religions, and no evidence that the analysts made discriminatory or inappropriate comments.
The memo later appeared in a report issued earlier this year by the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, a body created by one of President Trump's executive orders. The report stated that the FBI "investigated, monitored, tracked and scrutinized traditional Catholics who had engaged in no criminal misconduct" and alleged a "misplaced reliance" on the Southern Poverty Law Center in the Richmond office's analysis.
The Southern Poverty Law Center now faces separate criminal charges brought by the Justice Department, which alleges the organization lied to donors and banks when paying informants to infiltrate hate groups.
The SPLC has denied wrongdoing and described the prosecution as vindictive. The FBI declined to comment on the five firings. The analysts' dismissals were first reported by MS Now. These removals continue a pattern that began last year.
The FBI earlier dismissed all personnel involved in the two criminal prosecutions of President Trump concerning classified records and efforts to challenge the 2020 election results. The Justice Department also earlier this year removed several prosecutors who handled FACE Act cases against defendants accused of obstructing access to reproductive health clinics.
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