CV NEWS FEED // Hours before the June 6 deadline, the Federal Bureau of Investigation filed a motion to delay their response to CatholicVote’s Freedom of Information Act (FIOIA) request lawsuit for another 30 days. Obama appointee District Judge Rudolph Contreras agreed to the motion and delayed the FBI’s response to July 7.
According to CatholicVote advisor and former Congressman Dr. Tim Huelskamp, R-KS, the outcome was expected.
“This is another delaying tactic by the Biden Administration,” Huelskamp added.
The FBI and DOJ believe they are above the very laws they impose on others. It is clear to any unbiased observer: the FBI is spying on Catholics and is desperate to cover up their unconstitutional attacks on the civil liberties of all Americans, especially Catholics.
In April, CatholicVote, with Judicial Watch, sued the FBI and the Department of Justice for information regarding the scandal of the federal agencies targeting American Catholics.
A leaked memo from the FBI’s Richmond field office suggested an intelligence effort to target “radical-traditionalist” Catholics. Biden administration officials later provided further documentation in response to a subpoena from House lawmakers, admitting broader efforts to cultivate sources and establish “tripwire” operations even among “mainline” Catholic communities.
“On March 8th, 2023, CatholicVote sent FOIA requests to the FBI and DOJ seeking access to records pertaining to Catholics and other topics related to the leaked memo,” CatholicVote stated in an April 26 press release.
“Clearly after waiting nearly 90 days Biden’s FBI must have something to hide. This isn’t like we are requesting records about 9/11. This is a clear and present danger to Catholics across America,” said Huelskamp.
FOIA norms require agencies to respond to such requests within 20 business days, with an additional 10 for “unusual circumstances.” When the FBI and DOJ failed even to communicate whether they planned to comply with the requests, CatholicVote was left with no recourse but to file suit.
As reported by CatholicVote:
The lawsuit, which demands information the agencies are required to provide to the public upon request under the Freedom of Information Act, comes amid increased public scrutiny of the Biden administration’s treatment of Catholics. Critics say that the federal government has selectively applied the law to discriminate against Catholics, especially in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade last year.
Under pressure from the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, the administration recently revealed that officials had been targeting both “radical-traditionalist” and “mainline” Catholic parishes with surveillance and information-gathering.
