Gov. Youngkin Calls for ‘Full Transparency and Accountability’ From FBI in Wake of ‘Radical-Conventional Catholic’ Memo

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Virginia’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, expressed shock on the FBI Richmond bureau’s memo on “radical-traditional Catholic ideology” that cited the leftist Southern Poverty Regulation Middle and demanded “full transparency and accountability” within the FBI’s assessment of how the bureau compiled and printed the interior report.

The FBI memo urged brokers to probe the supposed nexus between “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists” and “radical-traditional Catholics,” citing the SPLC and together with a listing of SPLC-designated “hate teams” for brokers to focus on.

A few of Virginia’s representatives in Congress additionally addressed the memo—which the FBI introduced it might take away from its database final week—though Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., didn’t condemn it.

“Spiritual freedom is a foundational tenet of our nice nation, and the governor was shocked by the information stories on the FBI memo,” Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter instructed The Every day Sign in a press release Thursday. “Whereas he’s inspired that the FBI eliminated the doc, he believes there have to be full transparency and accountability from FBI management as a part of the assessment below approach.”

The FBI publicly introduced that it was rescinding the memo after FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin printed it on UncoverDC.com on Feb. 8. The nationwide FBI workplace claimed that the memo “doesn’t meet the exacting requirements of the FBI” and promised to take away the doc from its techniques and “conduct a assessment of the premise for the doc,” however it refused to reply additional questions concerning the transfer.

RELATED: WHISTLEBLOWER DOCS: FBI Cites Southern Poverty Regulation Middle in Report on ‘Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology’

As I clarify in my e-book, “Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Regulation Middle,” the SPLC took this system it has used to bankrupt organizations related to the Ku Klux Klan and weaponized it towards conservative teams, partially to scare donors into ponying up money and partially to silence ideological opponents. The SPLC locations conservative teams on a “hate map” with KKK chapters.

After the SPLC fired its co-founder amid a racial discrimination and sexual harassment scandal in 2019, a former staffer claimed that the SPLC’s accusations of “hate” are a “cynical fundraising rip-off” aimed toward “bilking northern liberals.” Critics throughout the political spectrum have voiced opposition and alarm on the group’s hate group smears. A terrorist even focused an SPLC-designated “hate group” in Washington, D.C., in 2012, and he instructed the FBI he used the “hate map” to seek out his goal. The SPLC condemned that act of terror, however saved the goal on the record and the map.

The SPLC has additionally prompt that the Catholic Church itself holds a place on human sexuality that might qualify it as a “hate group.”

For these and different causes, the Catholic bishop of Richmond, the Most Rev. Barry Knestout, condemned the FBI memo and referred to as on all of Virginia’s representatives in Congress to talk out towards it.

“I name on all nationwide representatives from the commonwealth of Virginia within the Home and Senate to train their function of oversight, to publicly condemn this risk to non secular liberty, and to make sure that such offenses towards the constitutionally protected free train of faith don’t happen once more,” Knestout mentioned in a press release Monday. “Racism, non secular bigotry, violence, and discrimination don’t have any place in our church or teachings.”

The Every day Sign reached out to each Virginia consultant within the U.S. Home and U.S. Senate.

Kaine didn’t condemn the memo or touch upon the SPLC. As a substitute, he appeared to endorse the memo’s central declare.

“There’s a memo suggesting that violent extremist teams are attempting to infiltrate sure radical traditionalist Catholic organizations. That needs to be trigger for concern,” Kaine instructed The Every day Sign.

RELATED: The Every day Sign Calls for Paperwork on FBI Focusing on ‘Radical Conventional Catholics’

Two of Virginia’s Republican congressmen condemned the memo.

“As an ardent supporter of defending non secular liberty, I’m actually against the implication of labeling extensively held conventional Catholic values as ‘excessive’ and was happy to see the FBI retract this offensive language,” Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., instructed The Every day Sign.

“I strongly condemn the concentrating on of Roman Catholics by the FBI and the novel Southern Poverty Regulation Middle,” Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., mentioned. “Their egregious actions are an assault on non secular liberty, and Congress should maintain accountable these accountable to make sure this by no means occurs once more.”

The opposite members of Virginia’s congressional delegation—Republican Reps. Jen Kiggans, Bob Good, and Morgan Griffith, and Democratic Reps. Bobby Scott, Abigail Spanberger, Don Beyer, Jennifer Wexton, and Gerry Connolly—didn’t reply to The Every day Sign’s requests for remark. Neither did Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

President Joe Biden, a self-described “religious Catholic,” didn’t reply to requests for remark concerning the memo and concerning the SPLC’s suggestion that the Catholic Church’s catechism makes it a “hate group.”

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