The FBI provided a slate of documents Tuesday to the House Judiciary Committee after committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) warned he would hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress should he not provide materials.
The documents, enclosed in a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner, related primarily to a Department of Justice directive issued in October 2021 that the FBI crackdown on an alleged "disturbing spike" in threats against school administrators, as well as to a now-retracted internal FBI assessment made in January that tied certain traditional Catholics to domestic violent extremism.
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Jordan had subpoenaed Wray for several records related to both issues but indicated in a letter to Wray last week that he would begin contempt of Congress proceedings because, he said, Wray's "refusal to produce documents responsive to the Committee’s subpoenas—months after the return dates—is unacceptable."
While the FBI had provided numerous and often redacted records to Jordan this year on a "rolling" basis as it was able to gather and prepare them, it had not fully met all of Jordan's requests. On Tuesday, Jordan did, however, convey that he was satisfied for now with the FBI's latest response.
A Jordan spokesperson said in a statement, "We're not moving forward with contempt of Wray on Thursday. We're reviewing the documents the FBI provided today, and everything remains on the table."
The FBI, for its part, emphasized the breadth of requests from Jordan in its response, saying the chairman had sent since the beginning of the year 14 letters and three subpoenas on a wide range of subjects, and had requested testimony from more than two dozen FBI officials.
The bureau has thus far "produced a significant amount" of responsive material, wrote Christopher Dunham, FBI acting assistant director. He noted that more requested documents were enclosed, including some that were "sensitive" or that the FBI had previously provided in more heavily redacted form.
Dunham also included an appendix listing out roughly 40 dates this year on which the FBI made efforts to comply with the committee.
"We believe the extensive ongoing document productions, transcribed interviews, and upcoming briefing constitute significant accommodations to the Committee’s stated concerns and questions regarding both the Attorney General’s Memorandum and the January 23rd Domain Perspective," Dunham wrote.
Jordan's requests pertain to the committee's broader investigation of the "FBI’s weaponization of its law-enforcement powers against Americans who exercise their First Amendment rights."
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Jordan has said he believes the FBI could have disregarded civil liberties by inappropriately monitoring innocent parents of students when tensions had risen across the country in 2021 between parents and school boards over issues such as forced masking and transgender policies.
The chairman has said the assessment about certain Catholics, which was a product of the FBI's Richmond Field Office but was retracted one month after its dissemination, contained several proposals, including the idea to plant sources in certain churches, that undermine religious liberty.