Is Biden Aware of the FBI Memo on Catholics? Jean-Pierre: 'I Have Not Seen This Leaked Document' (March 1, 2023)

Less than three weeks after the FBI pulled a leaked memo linking traditionalist Catholics to violent extremism, a reporter asked the White House whether President Joe Biden knew about it and what he would tell worried Catholics. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she hadn’t even seen it. “I have not seen this leaked document,” she said [1][2].

The video above shows the exchange from the March 1, 2023, White House briefing. Moments earlier, the same reporter had asked about Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, who the reporter said was “gunned down at his home,” and Jean-Pierre had shared the president’s condolences with “the entire Catholic community.” Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”Is the President Aware of That Document?”

The reporter laid out the stakes. “Is President Biden aware of this leaked document that recently came out of the Richmond, Virginia, field office that compared Catholics — conservative Catholics — to violent extremists?” the reporter asked [1].

The reporter quoted state attorneys general: “Anti-Catholic bigotry appears to be festering in the FBI, and the Bureau is treating Catholics as potential terrorists because of their beliefs.” Then: “So, my question is: Is the President aware of that document? And what would he tell Catholics seeing these headlines who might be worried ‘They’re coming after us — the Feds — because of our faith’?” [1]

“So, I — look, I have not seen this leaked document. I have not spoken to the Pres- — I haven’t seen it, so therefore I haven’t spoken to the President about it. So I just don’t want to get ahead of — of that,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”I’m Happy To”

The reporter asked whether Jean-Pierre would look at it and follow up. “Would you look at it eventually and give —” [1]

“Okay,” Jean-Pierre said. “I’m happy to.” She then called on the next reporter [1].

The exchange came right after Jean-Pierre had spoken for the White House on a Catholic loss. “The President and the First Lady join Archbishop Gómez, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and the entire Catholic community in the mourning of Bishop David O’Connell,” she said [1].

What the Memo Said

The document came from the FBI’s Richmond field office and was shared publicly by former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin. “FBI Richmond assesses the increasingly observed interest of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists … in radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology almost certainly presents opportunities for threat mitigation,” it read, according to The National Desk. Seraphin called the discovery “appalling” and said the FBI was “so desperate to find white supremacists that they’re going to look at the Catholic Church” [2].

The FBI pulled it. The bureau said the field office product “does not meet the exacting standards of the FBI,” and that headquarters “quickly began taking action to remove the document from FBI systems and conduct a review of the basis for the document.” The FBI said it “will never conduct investigative activities or open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity” [2].

The Attorneys General

The quote the reporter read came from a letter by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and 19 other attorneys general. Addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray, it demanded answers on why the document was created. “Virginia is the birthplace of religious freedom and has a long history of protecting the inalienable right to live your faith free from government interference or intimidation,” Miyares wrote [3].

”Aghast” and Subpoenaed

A week after the briefing, the FBI director weighed in. On March 8, 2023, Wray told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that when he learned of the memo, he was “aghast,” OSV News reported [6].

House Republicans were not satisfied. On April 10, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, subpoenaed the FBI for documents. In a letter to Wray, Jordan alleged the bureau “relied on at least one undercover agent to produce its analysis, and that the FBI proposed that its agents engage in outreach to Catholic parishes to develop sources among the clergy and Church leadership to inform on Americans” practicing their faith. An FBI spokesperson said the bureau “remains fully committed to cooperating with Congress’s oversight requests” [6].

By the Numbers

19 days: from the FBI’s retraction, reported Feb. 10, 2023, to the briefing [1][2].
20: state attorneys general who signed the letter, Miyares plus 19 others [3].
More than 1,000: FBI employees the memo reached before it became public, according to records released by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa [5].
At least 13: additional FBI documents, plus five attachments, that Grassley said used anti-Catholic terminology and relied on the Southern Poverty Law Center [5].
2: Richmond memos, counting a second draft that was never published [5].
Late 2022: when FBI agents interviewed a priest and a choir director at a Society of St. Pius X church in Richmond, according to the House report. The FBI said the interviews were part of a separate investigation [4].

What Happened Next

House Republicans dug in. In December 2023, the House Judiciary Committee released a report finding that “the memorandum was spread throughout the FBI, which is contrary to previous assertions that the memorandum was limited to the Richmond Field Office,” and that it “was published on an FBI-wide system.” The report also found that “the FBI had plans for an external, FBI-wide product based on the Richmond memorandum.” The memo had suggested “trip wire or source development” within parishes that offer the Traditional Latin Mass, EWTN News reported [4].

At a Senate hearing on Dec. 5, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Wray, “Now we know that, in fact, FBI agents did approach a priest and a choir director to ask them to inform on parishioners.” Wray said the memo had been rescinded and that employees had been admonished. “We do not and will not conduct investigations based on anybody’s exercise of their constitutionally protected religious [expression],” he said [4].

The FBI said the priest and choir director were interviewed “during an investigation of an individual threatening violence who has since been arrested.” “Any characterization that the FBI is targeting Catholics is false,” the bureau said, adding that an internal review “found no malicious intent to target Catholics or members of any other religious faith” [4].

The records kept coming. On June 3, 2025, Grassley released FBI records showing the memo had been distributed to more than 1,000 FBI employees. He also released a second draft memo, written by the Richmond office for bureau-wide distribution, which he said contradicted Wray’s testimony that the field office produced only “a single product.” Grassley urged FBI Director Kash Patel to keep producing records [5].

More of Jean-Pierre’s answers checked against the record are on HYGO News’ Karine Jean-Pierre record page.