Free Republic

Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation of whether Internal Revenue Service employees broke the law when they targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status — the latest setback for an agency that is the subject of withering bipartisan criticism and multiple congressional inquiries. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Tuesday that the Justice Department and the FBI began the probe after the IRS acknowledged that it selected conservative groups with the words “tea party” and “patriot” in their names for special reviews. “We are examining the facts to see if there were criminal violations,” Holder said at a news...

Lois Lerner, the senior IRS official at the center of the decision to target tea party groups for burdensome tax scrutiny, signed paperwork granting tax-exempt status to the Barack H. Obama Foundation, a shady charity headed by the president’s half-brother that operated illegally for years. According to the organization’s filings, Lerner approved the foundation’s tax status within a month of filing, an unprecedented timeline that stands in stark contrast to conservative organizations that have been waiting for more than three years, in some cases, for approval. Lerner also appears to have broken with the norms of tax-exemption approval by granting...

I have watched over the years how publicly unaccountable foundations have amassed billions of dollars, tax free, and spend it on dangerous, leftwing, often anti-American and anti-Israeli outfits, conferences and promoters. Taxpaying citizens opposed to abortion without restrictions, open borders, balkanization of the country, erosion of their constitutional rights, dumbed down education of their children and environmental extremism are fighting opposition very generously funded by these groups. The irony of this development is that capitalists -- like Ford, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Pew -- who owed their fortunes to American free market policies, started most of these foundations. Further, the notion of...

......Robert Goldfarb, an attorney for the state, said that nobody would visit the club if the dancers didn't remove their clothes. He also argued that the exemption applies to "choreographed" performances, and what the Nite Moves dancers do doesn't qualify. At least three members of the seven-judge panel questioned the notion that a performance must be choreographed to be considered artistic. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman suggested "creative artists in particular" often improvise......

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim civil rights group that has frequently drawn fire from conservatives, has regained its tax-exempt status. The Washington, D.C.-based CAIR and its related foundation were two of about 275,000 nonprofits that lost tax exempt status last year for not filing tax returns for three years in a row. Last month, the Internal Revenue Service sent a letter to the CAIR-Foundation Inc., saying the nonprofit had regained its tax-exempt status.

In an exclusive interview at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told The Daily Caller that he doesn’t know if his plan to promote Media Matters for America‘s new book violates the legal requirements of its 501(c)(3) non-profit status. When TheDC asked Reid whether he will be helping Media Matters’ David Brock promote the book, “The Fox Effect,” he said he would assist Brock “any way I can. … I have the greatest respect for [him], and his co-author [Ari Rabin-Havt] worked for me for many years.” (RELATED: More stories in the investigative ‘Inside Media Matters’...

Congressional Republicans are now interested in examining Media Matters For America‘s tax-exempt status, The Daily Caller has learned. Doing so would cause the GOP to wade into the complex world of tax laws that govern “exempt organizations” such as Media Matters and more than 1 million other charitable organizations that are exempt from federal income tax. Media Matters’ critics have questioned its tax-exempt status for some time. The Internal Revenue Service has a series of requirements that must be met before organizations can qualify. Successful applicants pay no federal income tax because the government presumes such charities perform services that...

David Brock was smoking a cigarette on the roof of his Washington, D.C. office one day in the late fall of 2010 when his assistant and two bodyguards suddenly appeared and whisked him and his colleague Eric Burns down the stairs. Brock, the head of the liberal nonprofit Media Matters for America, had told friends and co-workers that he feared he was in imminent danger from right-wing assassins and needed a security team to keep him safe. The threat he faced while smoking on his roof? “Snipers,” a former co-worker recalled. ...more...

If 501(c)(3) organizations were suddenly able to engage in partisan politicking, and donors were able to give on a tax-deductible basis, donors could ostensibly deduct currently non-deductible political donations simply by funneling these monies through churches. Churches would not only pass the collection plate for their religious mission, but churches would also be able to use these tax-deductible donations on behalf of particular candidates. Large churches could bankroll entire political campaigns and receive favorable treatment from those who support them. Politicians could visit with church pastors and lobby them for their campaign support. The lines of mutual respect between church...

On the Sunday before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett visited Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to give a political speech, in support of her boss (Barack Obama) and congressional Democrats: "Teachers, and firefighters, and policemen, whose jobs are now in jeopardy because Congress--well let me be specific--because the Republicans in Congress," Jarrett told the crowd. According to the CBS affiliate in Atlanta, at this point, "Before she could finish her sentence, people in the congregation were laughing, and applauding." At the Sunday service, Jarrett also brought up Osama bin Laden's death in order...

C. Boyden Gray, former White House counsel to President George W. Bush, filed a civilian complaint with the IRS against the nonprofit Media Matters on July 27, demanding the agency yank its “tax-exempt status.” Citing a pattern of “unlawful conduct,” Gray writes in his petition, which FOX Business has obtained, that the nonprofit has “executed a partisan strategy” in violation of U.S. tax law as it exists “no longer to educate the public but, rather, to declare ‘war on FOX,’” Gray says, quoting from an interview its founder, David Brock, gave to the website Politico. Also unlawful, Gray says, is...

Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks has been arrested in connection with an investigation into phone hacking and bribery. The 43-year-old was arrested by appointment by Operation Weeting police at a London police station. Met Police said she is currently still in custody. This is the 10th arrest made by police investigating hacking allegations by the News of the World newspaper. She was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and on suspicion of corruption allegations. The Operation Weeting team is conducting the current investigation into phone hacking.

A small tax-exempt political group with ties to wealthy liberals like billionaire financier George Soros has quietly helped elect 11 reform-minded progressive Democrats as secretaries of state to oversee the election process in battleground states and keep Republican “political operatives from deciding who can vote and how those votes are counted.” Known as the Secretary of State Project (SOSP), the organization was formed by liberal activists in 2006 to put Democrats in charge of state election offices, where key decisions often are made in close races on which ballots are counted and which are not. The group’s website said it...

David Brock, the conservative turned liberal advocate, has recently garnered a considerable amount of press coverage for his attacks on Fox News for, among many other things, allegedly taking over leadership of the Republican Party. What the news coverage has ignored is his use of tax-free funds for his organization, Media Matters for America (MMA), for these attacks - a form of government support for activities that clearly do not merit tax-exempt status and that as a result infringe on Fox News' First Amendment rights.

The first direct link above is to Soros' own web page. Many of you will choose not to click on it and well that's your choice. But some of you should actively look and see for yourself. Open the PDF, scroll down to the year 2008. Electronic Frontier Foundation got 300,000 dollars from Soros. Now scroll down to the year 2007. Another 100,000 dollars. So the total is 400k. And there is more. Let's take a look at who it is that sits on their various boards: http://www.eff.org/about/advisoryboard I am aware of Ethan Zuckerman being a Soros buddy because of...

After creating a huge post regarding all the different ways that the left shuffles funding around towards NPR, I realized it was probably a bit too long and I thought there might be a better way. So here is a visual which should help make it easier:

As you start to read all this, you'll laugh at how incestuous it all gets. Let's start with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which as I've noted in the past is tied in with the Soros foundation. Together, the two worked on something called The Project on Death in America.(PDIA) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2341083/posts And speaking of Mr Soros, he himself(his foundations) have given directly to NPR. Compared to some of the other numbers I'm seeing, it's a small amount of $250,000. But it doesn't matter. Soros money is soros money in my book. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2396058/posts Additional information about RWJF can be found here....

The war on conservative speech has moved from the White House to your neighborhood pews. Left-wing church leaders want the Federal Communications Commission to crack down on "hate speech" over cable TV and right-leaning talk-radio airwaves. President Obama's speech-stifling bureaucrats seem all too happy to oblige. Over the last week, an outfit called "So We Might See" has conducted a nationwide fast to protest "media violence" -- specifically, "anti-immigrant hate speech, which employs flawed arguments to appeal to fears rather than facts." Their ire is currently aimed at Fox News and conservative talk-show giants. But how long before they target...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Treasury Department's inspector general is looking into the government's oversight of tax-exempt organizations like ACORN when they engage in political activities. The office of California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa disclosed the IG's decision on Thursday amid a controversy over videotapes of ACORN employees offering advice about how to establish a brothel with underage prostitutes.

CHICAGO Newspapers perform a public service for democracy and should be allowed to operate as tax-exempt non-profits, U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D.-Md., proposed Tuesday. Cardin introduced a bill that would explicitly include newspapers among organizations eligible for 501(c)(3) status. The non-profit status is the same that public radio and television have now. The legislation would give a national green light for newspapers to adopt the so-called Low Profit Limited Liability Company business model, often shortened to L3C. The L3C model, which the Newspaper Guild supports as an alternative newspaper ownership model, is the subject of a feature story in the...

Non-Profit may describe a newspaper's balance sheet, but it does not describe its tax status, unless of course, if Senator Benjamin Cardin( D-Md.) gets his way. The Senator introduced a bill on the Senate floor today that would allow newspapers to elect to receive tax-exempt status all they have to do is promise not to endorse any political candidates (but they can report on the campaign):

Abstract: Partisan Environmental Groups: Beware of Wolves Dressed in Sheep’s Clothing. These wolves should be seen for what they really are: massive democratic political machines, disguised as environmental causes. These wolves disguised in sheep's clothing are deceiving the America people. When an individual gives their hard-earned money to one of these organizations, most expect it to be used for the environmental cause they support, not political campaigning. It seems that it is more important to these groups to turn their once laudable movement into a political machine misleading the American public regarding their purely politically partisan agenda under the guise...

Re: Many environmental groups are using their tax-exempt IRS registered 501(c)(3) charitable organizations as fraudulent front operations for the Democrats-Soros Shadow Party~FlA. Environmental groups are simply Democrat political machines with millions of dollars in contributions and expenditures each year for the purpose of raising more money to pursue their agenda. ~ Sen. James Inhofe Mr./Madam President, I rise today to shed some light on a subject that is very important to me in my oversight duties as Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Earlier this year, the Environment and Public Works Committee held an oversight hearing where the...

This pastor spouts vicious rumors about Sarah Palin (affairs with other men), and trashes her family values for the situation of her pregnant daughter - all from the pulpit. Is this grounds for revocation of his tax-exempt status? It seems borderline in that he doesn't advocate for a specifc candidate...also, he is from the prosperity preacher cloth with a very questionable lifestyle himself: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.bryant16feb16,0,756929,full.story

But there are already indications that both campaigns may be skirting campaign and tax laws in their efforts to win the Buckeye State. The Columbus Dispatch reported just a few weeks ago how both the Hillary and Obama camps are targeting pastors in the area seeking their endorsements (yes, the same thing that World Harvest pastor Rod Parsley and his church were accused of) in anticipation of the Ohio primary next Tuesday. So it's going to be interesting to see if the "We Believe" group of local ministers and rabbis who previously protested the supposed violation of church and state,...

IRS Investigates Church Group for Obama Speech The Internal Revenue Service is investigating the United Church of Christ for possibly violating federal restrictions on political activity for tax-exempt groups after the denomination hosted Sen. Barack Obama as a speaker at its national meeting last year, says the Associated Press. Senator Obama, who gave a speech to the denomination about faith and public life in Hartford, Conn., after he became a candidate for president, belongs to the 1.2 million-member Protestant group through his Chicago congregation. The IRS cited articles posted on the church’s Web site stating that volunteers for Senator Obama’s...

U.S. Christian Camp Loses Tax-Exempt Status over Same-Sex Civil-Union Ceremony By John Jalsevac OCEAN GROVE, N.J., September 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced on Monday that it was stripping the Methodist Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association of its tax-exempt status for part of its property. The Methodist camp made the news earlier this year after it refused, for religious reasons, to allow a lesbian couple to hold a "civil-union" ceremony at a pavilion on the camp's property. The pavilion, said Scott Hoffman, the camp's chief administrative officer to LifeSiteNews, "is a facility we...

   The illegal alien situation in America just keeps getting worse by the day.    On May 1st of 2007, the Los Angeles sect of the nationwide march of illegals against America got ugly and the police had to step in to restore order. Once again, the authorities have been labeled as the bad guys and the criminals have been elevated to the status of victims. Since they received such sympathetic media coverage, these instigators are now planning another nationwide protest against America. If they want to protest, they should go home and march on their own soil.    Next,...

As college sports continues to saturate the world of 24-hour sports news, some members of Congress are asking whether athletics ties into the academic mission of higher education. Proof that athletics spending supports education could become necessary to maintain the tax-exempt status of college sports. Losing that status could cost major programs like LSU’s millions of dollars, economists say. Although LSU officials do not believe Congress will make major changes in the tax law anytime soon, many aspects of sports revenue are potentially at stake, including: Whether to tax colleges for revenue they get from television broadcast rights. Loss of...

WASHINGTON -- An influential member of Congress is questioning whether the NCAA, with its multimillion-dollar television contracts and million-dollar coaches, deserves its tax-exempt status. "From the standpoint of a federal taxpayer, why should the federal government subsidize the athletic activities of educational institutions when that subsidy is being used to help pay for escalating coaches' salaries, costly chartered travel and state-of-the-art athletic facilities?" asked Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. Thomas asked the NCAA to justify its tax-exempt status in a letter sent Tuesday to Myles Brand, president of the National Collegiate Athletic...

Question: What two words does a blackmailer fear most? Answer: “Go ahead!” Once a blackmailer’s ammunition is gone, so is the threat, as long as the victim is willing to incur the consequences. As our government’s most abusive pit pull, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), continues to bully, threaten, and oppress churches of all faiths in our country while waving the carrot of “tax exemption” in the faces of church leaders, it is high time that the persecuted faiths have their “Epiphany,” and, in unison, tell Uncle Sam where else he can put that carrot. Davy vs. Goliath aside, there...

A couple of days before the 2004 presidential election, an Episcopal clergyman named George Regas delivered a sermon to congregants in Pasadena in the form of a mock debate among Jesus, President Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry over the Iraq war. Regas left no doubt about his anti-war sentiments, saying that Jesus would have told Bush that the war "has led to disaster," but did not specifically endorse anyone in the election. Eight months later, however, All Saints Episcopal Church received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service declaring "a reasonable belief ... that you may not be a...

Why Can’t America Have Human Rights? Thursday, September 14th, 2006, 6:30 pm The Nave at The Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive, New York www.breakthrough.tv An evening of performance and talks on Human Rights in the United States, including the death penalty, detentions and deportations, poverty, and violence and discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, and sexuality. The Forum will work to strengthen our connections and raise our voices to build an America that supports human rights instead of violating them. Speakers and performers include: Reverend Dr. James A. Forbes Jr. Larry Cox of Amnesty International USA Mallika Dutt...

WASHINGTON (National Catholic Register) – In June, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service put churches on notice for the 2006 campaign season. It said it would step up enforcement of its rules governing political participation by churches and other tax-exempt religious organizations. So does this mean that bishops, priests and other Catholic leaders are in jeopardy of being muzzled in key political debates? No, according to Tom Nash, director of special projects for Steubenville, Ohio-based Catholics United for the Faith. He said that Catholic organizations can speak out freely on political issues without fear of losing their tax-exempt status. “The existing...

Recent letter to my state reps regarding Premises ID component of NAIS.Dear Representative, An interesting thought occurred to me on the way out to feed the pigs: Premise ID implies farm. Farm buildings are tax exempt real estate in many states. If the Vermont Agency of Agriculture (AoA) is going to be forcing the obligations of Premises ID onto everyone with any livestock, then those people with even one chicken should also accrue the benefit of being a farm - that is to say any portion of their property used for said livestock should be exempt from real estate taxes....

NAACP Will Challenge the IRS Threat In Federal Court 3/30/2006 6:33:00 PM To: National Desk Contact: John C. White of the NAACP, 410-580-5125; Web: http://www.naacp.org BALTIMORE, March 30 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The NAACP announced today that it is taking steps to challenge the IRS's examination of the organization in federal court later this year. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announced today that it is taking steps to challenge in federal court the Internal Revenue Service's threat to revoke the NAACP's tax-exempt status because its Chairman, Julian Bond, criticized the Bush administration's policies in a speech...

LOS ANGELES - The Internal Revenue Service has warned a prominent liberal church that it could lose it's tax-exempt status because of an anti-war sermon a guest preacher gave on the eve of the 2004 presidential election, according to church officials. The Rev. George F. Regas did not urge parishioners at All Saints Episcopal Church to support either President Bush or John Kerry, but he was critical of the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts. The IRS warned the church in June that its tax-exempt status was in jeopardy because such organizations are prohibited from intervening in political campaigns and...

"On Church and State", by Lores Rizkalla, Freeper 'JustaWoman' Billy Graham said that "bad politicians are elected by good people who don't vote." I think the same is true of "bad propositions" passing because good people decide to stay home on election day. This Tuesday, California (among many other states) has a special election. Statistics say that an average of 5% of registered voters get out to vote in an off-year election. What's worse is the truth so beautifully, yet sadly, written by William Butler Yeats': "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Where...

Many tax-exempt animal rights organizations like PeTA deceive the public, endorse violence and fund terrorism. If you think groups like PeTA should lose their tax status, sign our petition! Since the mid 1990's, NAIA has been prodding government to do its job and protect the public from corrupt charities that receive tax breaks while violating their exempt purpose, committing crimes and supporting terrorism. Read some of our previous action alerts and press releases and then sign our petition calling for IRS review of 'charities' that operate like mobsters Sign Petition

When Pastor Chan Chandler proclaimed a few weeks before last November's election that East Waynesville Baptist Church would become a political church, parishioner Ann Stokley says her "jaw dropped to the floor." That the young pastor would call John Kerry supporters out as unfit Christians may not have been that surprising during a heated election in this county of some 60 Southern Baptist steeples nestled in the Appalachians. But Tuesday night, six months after the election - and a week after nine members claim they were kicked out of the church for refusing to vote Republican - Mr. Chandler, a...

WASHINGTON — As one pastor resigned this week amid a firestorm over the role of politics in his Baptist church, a U.S. congressman continues to try to make it easier for religious leaders and their congregations to engage in partisan political activity on the church's time and dime. Rev. Chan Chandler (search) resigned his post as pastor of the Waynesville Baptist Church (search) in North Carolina on Tuesday after nine members accused him of leading other members to push them out because they didn't agree with his pro-Republican views. Chandler has denied claims that the nine were voted out because...

Federal prosecutors announced Thursday they have indicted Pete Seda, the head of the Ashland branch of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, on fraud and tax charges. Seda, also known as Pirouz Sedaghaty and Abu Yunus, and another officer of the foundation, Soliman Hamd Al-Buthe, are part of a three-count indictment for illegally transporting $150,000 to Saudi Arabia. The indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, charges them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing a false IRS return for a tax-exempt corporation and failure to file a report of international transportation of currency. Known locally as a peace activist,...

Tax-Exempt Hospitals' Practices Challenged46 Lawsuits Allege That Uninsured Pay the Most TUPELO, Miss. -- When Tim Gardner was born at the hospital here 53 years ago, it was just "one little building on the hill" in a town best known as Elvis Presley's birthplace. From those humble beginnings, North Mississippi Medical Center has grown into the largest non-metropolitan hospital in the country, a booming enterprise with a complex of glass and marble buildings and 40 satellite clinics stretching into Alabama and Tennessee. The company, incorporated in Delaware, has nearly $300 million in the bank and "exceptional profitability," according to one...

Kweisi Mfume recently announced his departure as NAACP President, and not a moment too soon. His tenure has been a disaster for the storied civil rights organization, driving it deeper into liberal irrelevance. But that doesn't mean it still shouldn't be defended against the current IRS probe of its tax-exempt status. Back in October the NAACP was informed that it may have violated a law that prohibits charities, churches and other nonprofits from engaging in partisan activities. Under Mr. Mfume and chairman Julian Bond, the group has accused President Bush of being at war with black America; compared Republicans to...

Seattle Budget Follies The fiscally incontinent Seattle City Council has approved the 2005 budget. The council changed little of Mayor Greg Nickels' 2005 proposed budget, except by adding almost $6 million in spending, with most of that going to streets and bridges, libraries and social services. The council would finance most of its additions through a 1.5 percent increase in garbage, water, sewer and drainage charges. The increase would cost the average homeowner about $16 more a year. In a nutshell, the council socked every homeowner with a fee increase on essential services, in order to: a) Protect $109 opera...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a statement of Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice: Catholics for a Free Choice today filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service (news - web sites) against Catholic Answers, Inc. for blatant violation of its charitable status. CFFC called on the IRS to exercise its "authority to revoke the tax-exempt status of Catholic Answers and bring an action to enjoin this organization from again distributing this guide through national newspaper advertisements in October." On Aug. 31, the antichoice group published an ad containing the text of its Voter's...

A Catholic group plans to ask the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of a Miami, Fla., church, where prominent Democrats helped turn the Sunday church service into what the South Florida Sun-Sentinel called a "political rally." The Catholic League said the bishop of Miami's New Birth Baptist Church, Bishop Victor T. Curry, "welcomed" former Democratic presidential candidate Rev. Al Sharpton and the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terry McAuliffe. "Rev. Sharpton, speaking from the pulpit, added to the politicized atmosphere by shouting, 'We're not people who are going to be beat twice,'" Catholic League President William...

Campaign-finance watchdog groups are questioning the ability of the Internal Revenue Service to track soft-money fundraising in light of a multi-million-dollar mistake by the Republican Governors Association. They also say the IRS has little incentive to enforce accurate reporting because the organization is tax-exempt under tax code section 527. At the same time, the issue raises serious issues with how the RGA keeps its books, the congressional newspaper The Hill reported. The RGA has told the IRS that last year it failed to report more than $3 million it raised in the months preceding the gubernatorial races in Kentucky, Louisiana,...

SPARTANBURG, SC (Talon News) -- Liberal anti-Bush online political activist group MoveOn.org sent a warning message to its members this week regarding the upcoming ruling by the Federal Election Commission about the legality of so-called 527 groups accepting soft campaign contributions to run political ads."The Republican National Committee is pressing the Federal Election Commission to issue new rules that would cripple groups that dare to communicate with the public in any way critical of President Bush or members of Congress," MoveOn.org charged in an e-mail to supporters.In the e-mail, MoveOn.org attempts to scare "conservative, progressive, labor, religious, secular, social...

Take a Bite Out of PETA! Posted January 19, 2004 Despite its deceptively warm-and-fuzzy public image, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has donated over $150,000 to criminal activists -- including those jailed for arson, burglary, and even attempted murder. In 2001, PETA donated $1,500 to the North American Earth Liberation Front, a criminal organization that the FBI classifies as "domestic terrorists." And since 2000, rank-and-file PETA activists have been arrested over 80 times for breaking various laws during PETA protests. Charges included felony obstruction of government property, criminal mischief, assaulting a cabinet official, felony vandalism, performing obscene...