Hawley Alleges AG Garland Gave False Testimony About DOJ Targeting Catholics

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 13, 2022. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is alleging Attorney General Merrick Garland gave false testimony when he denied that the Department of Justice has been cultivating informants inside the Catholic Church.

Lawmakers first began raising questions about DOJ efforts to infiltrate Catholic churches after the Daily Signal obtained whistleblower documents from the FBI’s Richmond Field Office that described the threats posed by “radical-traditionalist Catholic” (RTC) ideology. The FBI acknowledged the authenticity of those documents insofar as to say they were rescinding the documents, which they said did not meet the agency’s standards.

In light of this FBI document on RTC ideology, Hawley quizzed Garland about the DOJ’s view of Catholics during a March 1 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Hawley specifically asked Garland whether the DOJ is “cultivating sources and spies” within Catholic congregations. At the time, Garland said under oath: “No, the Justice Department does not do that. It does not do investigations based on religion.”

When Hawley asked another way—how many informants the DOJ has within the Catholic Church—Garland said, “I don’t know, and I don’t believe we have any informants aimed at Catholic churches.”

On Monday, the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government raised allegations that the FBI indeed relied on “at least one undercover agent” to produce the document assessing the threats of RTC ideology and discussed outreach to develop sources among the clergy and church leadership to inform on parishioners. In response to that House subcommittee’s report, Hawley revisited the answers Garland gave during his March 1 Senate testimony.

“Let’s be clear: your Department has decided to turn Catholic congregations into front organizations for the FBI, and when asked about it, you’ve decided to fudge the truth before Congress,” Hawley wrote in a letter (pdf) to Garland on Tuesday. “This is an unconscionable assault on American Catholics’ First Amendment rights and an abdication of your duty to enforce the law without fear or favor.”

Hawley asked Garland to identify how many undercover informants or other agents the DOJ has in Catholic parishes or other Catholic organizations and which FBI field offices received DOJ guidance related to the infiltration of traditionalist Catholic parishes. Hawley also asked again how many undercover informants or agents the DOJ has in other religious organizations currently.

“Everyone involved with this chilling surveillance campaign must face accountability,” Hawley wrote.

NTD reached out to the DOJ for comment, but the department did not respond before this article was published.

DOJ’s Focus on Catholics

The DOJ has demonstrated an increased interest in Catholic individuals following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which they overturned Roe v. Wade and affirmed the ability of states to regulate aspects of abortion that are not already codified by federal law.

The document on RTCs produced by the FBI’s Richmond Field Office describes a belief that radical traditionalist Catholics are converging with the far-right white nationalist movement and racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) as “demonstrated through the increase in hostility toward abortion-rights advocates on social media sites in the run-up to and aftermath” of the Dobbs decision.

The FBI document also said the agency expects increased RMVE interest in radical Catholics in the leadup to the next general election, with both groups holding similar views on immigration, affirmative action, and the LGBTQ community.

In September, the FBI arrested and charged Catholic pro-life activist Mark Houck over an incident a year prior at a protest outside an abortion clinic. The DOJ alleged Houck had pushed Bruce Love, a 72-year-old clinic escort, to the ground during an October 2021 protest. Houck’s legal team argued that the altercation actually began after Love began aggressively “harassing” Houck’s 12-year-old son during the protest. Houck was acquitted in a Philadelphia federal court in January.

Despite the acquittal, Houck’s family has raised concerns about the way he was arrested. Houck’s wife alleged that a tactical team of about 25 officers entered their home with weapons drawn, and pointed those weapons at her, her husband, and their children. The FBI has disputed claims it sent a tactical team to arrest Houck.

During the March Senate hearing, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said there had been over 81 reported attacks on crisis pregnancy centers and 130 attacks on Catholic churches since the Dobbs decision and only two individuals had been charged. Lee noted 34 people had been charged with blocking or vandalizing abortion clinics during that same time frame.

Garland said the discrepancy in arrest actions on either side of the abortion debate is due in part to pro-life activists being easier to identify.

“You are quite right, there are many more prosecutions with respect to the blocking of the abortion centers,” Garland admitted. “But that is generally because those actions are taken with photography at the time during the daylight and seeing the person who did it is quite easy. Those who are attacking the pregnancy resource centers, which is a horrid thing to do, are doing this at night in the dark.”

From NTD News