Focus on the Family comes back clean

Focus on the Family is a ministry partner to the Indiana Family Institute, so we were happy on Tuesday to see that they were able to withstand attacks from the left regarding their non-profit status.

Recently, several liberal watchdog groups, including the Soros-funded Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), lobbed a complaint that FOTF was violating the rules allowing it to maintain its 501(c)3 status.  After exhaustive review, the IRS could find no situation in which FOTF violated its status.

Note:  FOTF also has an additional entity, entitled Focus on the Family Action, that doesn't have the same restrictions as the 501(c)3.

According to a local blogger, Advance Indiana's Gary Welsh, this result makes Jim Bopp the "most powerful force in Indiana politics" (I think that Governor Daniels or Senator Lugar would disagree), and it confirms that President Bush has interfered in an IRS investigation to support violent Christians who wish to impose religious tyranny upon our great country (by apparently killing thousands of Americans).   From Welsh's blog:

The Bush-run IRS is simply protecting the religious right so that it can continue to use its vast empire of well-funded not-for-profits to elect conservative, moralist Republicans to office. People need to wake up to what's happening. And I'm primarily directing that to Republicans. As you pause to remember 9/11, you might want to think about how far some religious zealots are willing to go to impose their religious laws on us.

This ruling is a victory for all who value free speech.  Resources of Dobson's 501(c)3 were not being used to support political candidates.  He should have the right to say what he wants as long as he follows this rule- even if what he says makes Gary Welsh unhappy.

The First Amendment was created first and foremost to guarantee the right to political speech.  We should err on the side of freedom on this issue.

Bopp's Press Release:
 

Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom
1 South 6th Street
Terre Haute, IN 47807-3510

PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Contact: James Bopp, Jr.

IRS Examination of Focus on the Family Comes Back Squeaky Clean

In 2005, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and other liberal watchdog groups sent complaints to the IRS against Focus on the Family.  In the complaints, they alleged that Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family had engaged in unlawful political activities that justified revocation of their tax exempt status.  In 2006, the IRS began an investigation of Focus on the Family that included all their publications, radio broadcasts, and internet communications, especially those that mentioned public officials and political candidates.

The issue was whether Dr. Dobson had improperly endorsed any candidates for public office and whether Focus on the Family had otherwise engaged in political intervention, activity which is prohibited to organizations income tax exempt under Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3).  An IRS closing letter, dated August 30, 2007, states that: “Our examination revealed that Dr. Dobson’s reported remarks did not occur in publications of Focus on the Family, did not occur at functions of Focus on the Family, and did not involve Dr. Dobson suggesting that he was speaking as a representative of Focus on the Family.  As such, we are closing our examination without any change to our recognition of Focus on the Family as an organization described in section 501(c)(3).”

James Bopp, Jr., special counsel for Focus on the Family, says: “This is a huge victory for Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family.  No ministry is more careful than this one in complying with all the complex Federal and state laws regulating non-profit organizations.  The fact that the IRS did such a thorough review, and found no violations, is a credit to Dr. Dobson, the Focus on the Family compliance team, and their desire to be a law-abiding organization.”

James Bopp, Jr. is special counsel for Focus on the Family. He and his law firm, Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom, have been responsible for the creation, incorporation, and organization of Focus on the Family Action and for compliance with all Federal and state non-profit regulations for Focus on the Family and  Focus on the Family Action’s lobbying and political activities.  He has a national federal and state election law and non-profit compliance practice.

Comments

[VC]

YAY!

Boy, the commenters on AI really need to get their facts straight...

They apparently don't know the difference between a 501(c)3, a 501(c)4, and a PAC (political action committee).