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In a message dated 11/7/2005 1:46:33 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
The press is reporting an IRS letter to a church whose pastor gave an anti-war sermon on October 31, 2004. Link below. Does anybody know of reports of similar letters to churches that were supporting the President's campaign? Doug,
you are, I am sure, familiar with Church at Pierce Creek v. CIR, a decision
of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, affirmed by the DC
Circuit, sustaining the revocation of exemption of a church that, in 1992, ran
newspaper advertisements asking how a Christian could vote for the
election of Bill Clinton. Perhaps you have not heard of the church in
Manassas, Virginia that was threatened with revocation, although no action
ultimately was taken, after Col. Ollie North was invited to give his testimony
during an annual service coinciding with July 4th observances. During the
Pierce Creek litigation, we provided the IRS with evidence showing that one
candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 organized a
concerted fund raising event from the pulpit of some 500 churches across
America. And that, during the Clinton re-election campaign, campaigning
for his re-election occurred from the pulpits of important African American
pulpits in Harlem, New York and Richmond, Virginia.
And, realizing that Barry Lynn will insist on disputing this fact
statement, I know that the IRS has stated that a church would violate its exempt
status if prayers were offered from the pulpit for the re-election of George W.
Bush during the 2004 election cycle.
Jim Henderson
Senior Counsel
ACLJ
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