Records Show Top FBI Lawyers Reviewed
Controversial Targeting of Traditional Catholics
More evidence that the FBI can’t be trusted.
We received 98
pages of heavily redacted documents from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) showing that the agency’s Office of General Counsel
reviewed the controversial
targeting of the Catholics by the Richmond field office of the
FBI.
FBI Director Christopher Wray had told
congressmen that the memo was “a single product by a single field
office,” but the records we uncovered show
that it was “Reviewed by: OGC/CDC [Office of General Counsel/Chief Deputy
Counsel].” The records also indicate coordination with officials from
Portland and Milwaukee.
These documents disprove the FBI’s narrative that the spy operation
against Catholics and churches was limited to one field office. In fact,
the operation seems to have been approved by top lawyers in the FBI. These
documents should trigger a criminal inquiry into this Biden FBI scandal.
We obtained the records in response to an April 2023 FOIA lawsuit
filed with CatholicVote
Civic Action against the FBI and the Department of Justice after they
failed to respond to March 2023 requests for records about the FBI
intelligence memo targeting “radical traditionalist” Catholics (CatholicVote
Civic Action and Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Federal Bureau of Investigations
and Department of Justice (No. 1:23-cv-01166)).
In February 2023, an FBI intelligence document was
leaked that showed the FBI targeting of Catholics who adhere to
traditional beliefs on abortion and other cultural issues. The Catholic
News Agency reported:
“The leaked document has been condemned by several federal and state
officials, as well as clergy, including Bishop
Barry Knestout of the Diocese of Richmond, who recently called
the memo a ‘threat to religious liberty.’”
The records include a January 23, 2023, document
labeled “Domain Perspective – Threat Target/Facilitation Platform, FBI
Richmond” that has a section titled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically
Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology
Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities:”
Executive Summary
FBI Richmond assesses the increasingly
observed interest of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists
(RMVEs) in radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology almost certainly
presents opportunities for threat mitigation through the exploration of new
avenues for tripwire and source development. FBI Richmond makes this
assessment with high confidence [redacted]
Increasingly Observed Interest of RMVEs in RTC Ideology Almost
Certainly Presents New Opportunities for Threat Mitigation
FBI Richmond assesses the increasingly
observed interest of RMVEs [Racially or ethnically motivated violent
extremists] in RTC [Radical-Traditionalist Catholic] ideology almost
certainly presents new opportunities for threat mitigation through the
exploration of new avenues for tripwire and source development. This
assessment is based on [redacted]
Reviewed by:
OGC/CDC [Office of General Counsel/Chief Deputy Counsel]
Coordinated with: SA [Special Agent] [redacted] (FBI Portland) and IA [Intelligence
Agent] [redacted] (FBI Milwaukee)
Warnings and Caveats
Potential criminality exhibited by certain
members of a group referenced herein does not negate nor is it a comment on
the constitutional rights of the group itself or its members to exercise
their rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The FBI
does not investigate, collect, or maintain information on U.S. persons
solely for the purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First
Amendment.
FBI Richmond prepared this Domain
Perspective. Please direct comments and queries to the FBI Richmond
Intelligence Program …
The House received a
similar but not identical record.
In the same email
chain, Michael Machtinger of the Counterterrorism Division (CTD)
emails colleagues Kellie Hardiman and Robert Wells, on February 8: “I
spoke at length with our RMVE SMEs [Racially/Ethnically Motivated Violent
Extremist Subject Matter Experts] and we provided this response to
[redacted] et al to help craft the OPA [Office of Public Affairs]
language.”
On the same email
chain that day Ugoretz writes to multiple colleagues:
For the background of ALCON [All Concerned], this product type, a Domain
Perspective, is an FBI product intended to highlight how a shift or new
development related to an environmental variable (EV) may affect threats or
mitigation in a particular domain. [Redacted]
The Field Office's IPC is the final approver
[redacted].
On February 9, Ugoretz emails
multiple colleagues:
Good morning,
We understand there is discussion of
recalling this Domain Perspective. DI [Directorate of Intelligence]
conducted a preliminary review of the product’s analytic tradecraft to
help inform that decision, with the following key takeaways:
[redacted]
A
separate email
chain that has been declassified
indicates an attachment, “ATA_Complicated_Questions,” which refers to
an Annual Threat Assessment. On February 16, a person whose name is
redacted emails General Counsel Jason Jones and others:
[Assistant Director] Dunham asked that we circulate the attached draft
“Complicated Questions” document for the Director's upcoming testimony
for your review. As you will see, the draft reflects feedback received from
various divisions/stakeholders to date, and certain topics continue to
evolve.
[Office of Congressional Affairs] is hoping
to have this draft finalized by COB Tuesday, February 21.
The attachment itself is not included in the production of records.
“Since last February, we have worked to expose this unconstitutional
targeting of faithful Catholics by the FBI,” said former Congressman Tim
Huelskamp, Senior Advisor to CatholicVote, “and the results are stunning,
unprecedented, and should concern all Americas. Contrary to statements
under oath by Director Wray and Attorney General Garland, this flagrantly
anti-Catholic program by the FBI was widespread, fully supported by senior
officials, authorized undercover agents to infiltrate Catholic parishes,
attempted to influence elections, and may be ongoing. Meanwhile, the Biden
administration has stood idly by as Catholic churches have been attacked
more than 200 times since May of 2022.”
We previously uncovered
records from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) showing top
officials rushing to craft a public response to the leaked FBI intelligence
memo that revealed its targeting of Catholics who adhere to traditional
beliefs on church issues.
Secret Service Records Disclose Agency Boats Inoperable for Obama Chef
Drowning Emergency
Slowly the troubling details of the drowning death of the Obamas’ chef
are coming out.
Judicial Watch received 31
pages of records from the Department of Homeland Security that show the
identity of the companion of Obama’s chef Tafari Campbell as a woman
named “Ms. Taylor,” who reported that “[Campbell] fell in the water
and struggled for a couple of seconds before giving up and sinking
underwater.”
The records also show that the Secret Service could not get the first two
boats they tried to use to search for Campbell to function and had to use
the groundskeeper’s boat. Also, at least one, and possibly multiple,
agents from the Secret Service’s Little Rock, Ark., office were involved
in the search for Campbell’s body.
And we learned that when Obama arrived at the scene the search was paused
because he wanted to talk with an unidentified person.
We obtained the records thanks to an October 25, 2023, FOIA lawsuit
against the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after it
failed to respond to an August request for Secret Service video recordings
and other records relating to the death of the Obamas’ personal chef,
Tafari Campbell, in July 2023 in the Edgartown Great Pond behind the
Obamas’ estate on Martha’s Vineyard (Judicial
Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No.
1:23-cv-03194)).
The records
include a July 24 report from a Secret Service agent whose name is redacted
that reveals the interview details – including the name – of
Campbell’s paddle boarding companion: “Ms. Taylor stated that Mr.
Campbell was not wearing a life jacket and had no personal flotation
devices aboard the paddleboard at the time of the incident.”
A separate report
notes how Campbell’s companion “collapsed on the ground and stated that
Tafari had drowned. She stated that he fell in the water and struggled for
a couple of seconds before giving up and sinking underwater.” The agent
continued, describing how a supervisory agent and another agent
“attempted to start one of the boats but had difficulties lowering the
motor. I headed down with [redacted] but told her to continue down and
yelled to SA [redacted] and SSA [redacted] that I would run to get the keys
for our USSS boat. I sprinted to the CP [Command Post], grabbed the keys
and sprinted back towards the boats. A similar issue occurred with the
motor on the second boat. We jumped into a third boat belonging to the
groundskeeper and it worked without issue.”
The same report notes former President Obama came to the incident scene and
the search was paused so President Obama could speak to the eyewitness:
We continued our search with flashlights.
Shortly thereafter we were called to Wilson’s Landing as FPOTUS Obama was
there and the local Fire Department in conjunction with Massachusetts
Police Department and other local agencies were setting up an Incident
Command Post. He had wanted to talk with [redacted]. The first EMS/Police
response we saw may have occurred within an hour. I recall seeing a small
PD or Fire boat scanning the shoreline just after it was getting
dark.
It is disturbing that Secret Service boats did not work for this emergency
situation. This new information perhaps explains why the Secret Service is
still hiding video related to the tragic drowning.
In October, we received 40
pages of records from the Massachusetts State Police that indicate the
presence of Barack Obama for a witness interview in the death
investigation. The records, which are heavily redacted, indicate Barack
Obama arrived at the emergency response scene via motorcade. A short time
later, a cold, wet woman, who was a witness, arrived. The next morning, the
eyewitness was interviewed in the Obama residence, seemingly with Barack
Obama again present. The records also detail the existence of a Secret
Service video of Campbell and his paddleboarding companion entering the
water, and the Secret Service emergency response in the immediate aftermath
of the drowning. The State Police records show they concluded “no foul
play” in Campbell’s “accidental” death.
In August 2023, we released records
from the Edgarton, Mass., Police Department that show the Secret Service
reported Campbell missing and that the body was found using sonar. The
records also detail that clothing was found separate from the body and that
he was not wearing a life vest.
Our lawsuit in Federal court for more information continues and I will be
sure to update you here as events warrant!
Border Patrol: Migrants Know They Will be Released, Fueling Immigration
Crisis
The Biden administration has largely stopped the enforcement of our laws
against illegal immigration, and those coming know it, as our Corruption
Chronicles blog reports.
The Biden administration impedes Border Patrol agents from fulfilling
their duty of securing the southwest border by prohibiting consequences for
most individuals crossing into the United States illegally and instead
practicing a mass release policy that encourages more illegal immigration.
In fact, the expectation of “prompt
release into the interior” has helped craft the nation’s historic
border crisis, according to scathing material provided to a congressional
panel by Border Patrol sector chiefs. In Arizona’s Yuma Sector alone,
about 70% of illegal immigrants apprehended since Biden became president
have been released inside the U.S. “There needs to be a consequence to
the illegal activity, otherwise it won’t stop,” San Diego Sector Border
Patrol Chief Aaron Heitke told
members of the House Committee on Homeland Security. “And when you look
at a population that’s coming, the only real consequence that we have is
to send them back to their home country.”
But that has not occurred under the Biden
administration, the San Diego Sector chief as well as his counterparts
along the Mexican border confirm. Lack of meaningful consequences for
unlawful entry has created perverse incentives to enter the U.S. illegally,
the Homeland Security committee found after extensive interviews with eight
Border Patrol sector chiefs. Unprecedented numbers of illegal aliens have
been released, including more than 1.6 million under some form of parole
despite the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) limiting parole to a
“case by case” and “temporary” basis. The Border Patrol has also
released over 1.2 million illegal immigrants with a Notice to Appear (NTA)
on their own recognizance for hearings that are often years away and
Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO)
has issued over half a million NTAs since February 2021. Also, for a brief
period in 2021, at least 104,000 illegal aliens were released in the
country with a Notice to Report (NTR) to an Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) office within 60 days.
Additionally, the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), created after 9/11 to prevent another terrorist attack,
frees inside the U.S. the overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants who
use the CBP One App, including those from “hostile nations.” The
congressional panel found that 95.8% (278,431) of all inadmissible aliens
who scheduled appointments through the app between Jan. 12 an Sept. 30,
2023 were ultimately issued an NTA and released into the U.S. on parole.
This includes individuals from “countries of concern,” including
Russia, China, Yemen, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and
Egypt. Nearly all the Russian, Afghan, Chinese and Iranian nationals who
made CBP One appointments were released in the U.S., according to the
records. Most of the Latin Americans were also freed into the country,
including illegal immigrants from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and
Venezuela. Another recently created program to welcome migrants into the
U.S. has granted 269,744 Cubans Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans mass
parole at ports of entry nationwide and ICE’s non-detained docket has
grown by nearly two million while CBP has recorded 1.7 million known
“gotaways” since Biden became commander-in-chief.
Because the migrant population knows the
U.S. will more than likely release illegal border crossers in the country,
big groups are giving themselves up to federal agents, Border Patrol
officials say.
“They’re giving up because they believe
they’re going to stay in the United States,” said Chief Border Patrol
Agent John Modlin of Arizona’s Tucson Sector. “If not, they would be,
like everyone else in Tucson, dressed head to toe in camouflage, running as
fast as they could, staying up in the mountains or in the valleys to avoid
detection by our system.” The Yuma, Arizona deputy chief, Dustin Caudle,
confirmed that “the belief that they are going to be released with no
consequence is certainly something that many migrants tell our agents.”
The chief of California’s El Centro Sector, Gegory Bovino, told lawmakers
that providing a consequence to someone that illegally enters the country
“has a great effect on migration routes and those who seek to come across
the border.” The chief of the Rio Grande Valley Sector in Texas, Gloria
Chavez, said “when there’s not a consequence, we continue to see some
of these surges that we—that we’re experiencing here
recently.”
The Biden policies have proven to be
devastating. Fiscal year 2023, which ended in September, was a
record-breaker for illegal immigration with a ghastly 2.48 million
migrants, surpassing what was previously a historical high of 2.38 million
in 2022. The last month of the fiscal year (September), federal agents
encountered a whopping 269,735 illegal aliens constituting an all-time high
for a single month and a substantial increase over August when CBP
encountered 232,963 migrants. The Tucson Sector saw an unprecedented 109%
spike in illegal immigrants during the last month of the fiscal year
compared to August and a total 48% increase for 2023, from 251,984 last
year to 373,625. The El Paso crossing in Texas had a 39% boost in illegal
immigration compared to last year with 427,471 crossings compared to
307,844 in 2022. Texas sectors located south of El Paso also saw large
numbers of illegal immigrants, with Del Rio recording 393,226 and Rio
Grande Valley 338,337. California got bombarded as well with a 31% hike in
illegal aliens in San Diego and a 30% rise in El Centro. If there are no
repercussions for violators the numbers will just keep growing.
Until next week,
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