Former FBI Director Christopher Wray faces a potential criminal referral as a Washington-based watchdog group has urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI to investigate his congressional testimony. The allegations center on Wray’s claims regarding a controversial anti-Catholic bias memo and a Chinese plot to influence the 2020 election. The Oversight Project, a nonpartisan watchdog organization, argues that Wray’s statements were misleading or false and could constitute perjury, obstruction of congressional proceedings, and making false statements to authorities. According to the group, Wray’s testimony during his July 2023 appearance before the House Judiciary Committee was inaccurate and failed to disclose the full scope of related documents.
The referral specifically targets Wray’s testimony regarding the Richmond memo, which revealed allegations of anti-Catholic bias within the FBI’s office in Virginia. The memo labeled Catholics as potential domestic threats, sparking controversy and congressional scrutiny. Wray testified that the memo was an isolated incident and that he had ordered its removal from FBI systems upon discovering it. However, the Oversight Project claims this statement was misleading, as the memo’s production and dissemination were more extensive. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., pressed Wray on this issue, questioning whether the memo represented a pattern rather than an isolated incident.
Additionally, Wray faced scrutiny for his testimony about a Chinese plot to disseminate fake driver’s licenses before the 2020 election. His comments during the 2020 testimony suggested that the FBI had not seen any coordinated national voter fraud effort, but the Oversight Project argues that documents later released by the FBI contradict this. These documents reportedly showed concerns in August 2020 about the potential use of fake IDs to aid former President Joe Biden during the election. The Oversight Project also cites a June 2020 seizure of 20,000 counterfeit licenses by Customs and Border Protection in Illinois, highlighting the severity of the issue.
Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who chaired a June hearing on the Biden administration’s alleged cover-ups, also criticized Wray’s testimony. Grassley pointed out that the Richmond memo was part of a broader pattern of FBI documents that used biased anti-Catholic sources, with over a dozen documents released and shared with FBI Director Kash Patel. Grassley emphasized that Wray’s claim of an isolated incident did not align with the evidence presented, indicating a deeper issue within the FBI’s handling of the matter.
The referral also highlights a second draft product of the Richmond memo, intended for external distribution as a Strategic Perspective Executive Analytic Report (SPEAR). The Oversight Project argues that Wray failed to disclose the existence of this second memo, which was meant for broader FBI use. This omission is seen as a violation of congressional procedures and could lead to charges of obstruction. The FBI and Justice Department have not yet commented on the referral, but the allegations continue to draw significant attention from both political and media outlets. The case raises serious questions about transparency, accountability, and the integrity of government institutions during critical elections and investigations.