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.”…