According to this letter, the IRS has opened an investigation to determine whether the United Church of Christ has engaged in prohibited political activity in support of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama:
Our concerns are based on articles posted on several websites incuding the curch’s which state that [Obama] addressed nearly 10,000 church members at the United Church of Christ’s biennial General Synod at the Hartford Civic Center, on June 23, 2007. In addition, 40 Obama volunteers staffed campaign tables outside the church to promote his campaign.
The United Church of Christ’s response is here. See the video and text of the disputed speech.
Obama is a member of the Trinity United Chuch of Christ in Chicago. Press and blogosphere coverage:
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Associated Press: IRS Investigates Obama’s Denomination
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Cleveland Plain Dealer: Obama’s UCC Membership Could be Thorny Issue
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Hartford Courant: Obama Speech Puts Heat on UCC
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Huffington Post: IRS Probe of Obama’s Church Underscores Anxieities for Nonprofits
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L.A. Times: Obama Church Speech Probed
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Nonprofit Law Prof Blog: L.A. Times Reports That Obama Church Speech Probed
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Wall Street Journal: IRS probes Church Over Obama Speech
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Washington Post:
Update:
- Listen to Lloyd Mayer’s views on Chicago’s WLS 890 AM.
- See the letter that sparked the IRS’s inquiry here.
