Criticizing Bush: NAACP Says It Will Not Comply With IRS Probe
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Originally published in The Frontrunner February 1, 2005
The Baltimore Sun (2/1, Brewington) reports, "Charging that an IRS audit was 'motivated by partisan politics,' NAACP Chairman Julian Bond announced Monday that the civil rights group would not comply with the federal probe alleging Bond had inappropriately intervened in the presidential campaign by criticizing President Bush. 'We are prepared to fight,' Bond said Monday."
The IRS recently "requested documents for the investigation into the group's tax-exempt status." However, attorneys for the NAACP "refused to deliver the documents, saying Bond did nothing wrong by criticizing the president in a speech last summer at the group's annual convention."
The AP (2/1) reports, "The IRS has said it's probing about 60 charities, churches and other tax-exempt groups for potentially breaking federal rules that bar them from participating in political activity." In a letter to the House Democrats' top tax writer in November, "IRS Commissioner Mark Everson said the agency received two letters questioning political activity of nonprofit groups from members of Congress. None came from the White House or any federal political appointee."
The Washington Post (2/1, A9, Fears) reports, Angela Ciccolo, an attorney for the NAACP, said, "The timing of the investigation is critical here," adding, "The remarks [by Bond] were made in July, and in October, when we're trying to register African American voters, we get this order. We think it's important to stand up to this type of intimidation, especially in an election year."
