Procedural Issue Ends IRS Exam into Possible Partisan Intervention

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has closed an investigation into Warroad Community Church in Warroad, Minnesota regarding a sermon the pastor delivered that criticized both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. According to the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), the IRS began an audit of the church in August 2008, and the IRS has now stated "that it is closing its examination of the sermons due to a procedural problem."

Reportedly, the procedural problem is related to the IRS's quandary of who is authorized to sign off on church tax inquiries. In Jan. 2009 a Minnesota U.S. district court judge ruled that IRS incorrectly began an examination into the Living Word Christian Center because it was not authorized by a high-enough official, and as a result the church did not have to comply with an IRS summons for an investigation. Now the question arises whether the IRS will dismiss other cases of partisan intervention by churches because of this "procedural problem."

Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told BNA Money and Politics ($$) that he thought the case was going to be reopened. "[T]he alternative is for IRS to be faced with the 30 churches that participated in the ADF activity last fall. You can't just give them all a pass because you are confused about the procedure."

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