Citing July Speech, I.R.S. Decides to Review N.A.A.C.P.
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY
Published: October 29, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/29/politics/29probe.html?th  (must register to view original article)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 - The Internal Revenue Service has begun reviewing the tax-exempt status of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, citing concerns over a speech given by its chairman, Julian Bond, at its annual convention last July in Philadelphia.

In a letter dated Oct. 8 and released Thursday, the I.R.S. told the association it had received information that Mr. Bond conveyed "statements in opposition of George W. Bush for the office of presidency" and specifically that he had "condemned the administration policies of George W. Bush in education, the economy and the war in Iraq."

The letter reminded the association that tax-exempt organizations are legally barred from supporting or opposing any candidate for elective office.

Mr. Bond's speech on July 11 included a long section that sharply criticized the Republican Party, Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for their positions on an array of issues important to black Americans.

In an interview Thursday, Mr. Bond defended his remarks, saying they focused on policy, not politics.

"This is an attempt to silence the N.A.A.C.P. on the very eve of a presidential election," he said. "We are best known for registering and turning out large numbers of African-American voters. Clearly, someone in the I.R.S. doesn't want that to happen."

He added, "It's Orwellian to believe that criticism of the president is not allowed or that the president is somehow immune from criticism."

I.R.S. officials said they could not discuss the specifics of any case. But Mark W. Everson, the agency's commissioner, issued a statement denying that the agency's interest in the group was politically motivated.

"The I.R.S. follows strict procedures involving the selection of tax-exempt organizations for audit and resolution of any complaints about such groups," Mr. Everson said. "Career civil servants, not political appointees, make these decisions in a fair, impartial manner. Any suggestion that the I.R.S. has tilted its audit activities for political purposes is repugnant and groundless."

The N.A.A.C.P. is hardly the first organization to raise questions about I.R.S. actions around an election. In the 1990's, so many organizations accused the I.R.S. of engaging in politically motivated examinations that the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation reviewed all examination data for tax-exempt organizations between 1990 and 1998. It found "no credible evidence" of wrongdoing by the agency or the Clinton administration.

Mr. Bond, who has been chairman of the N.A.A.C.P. for six years, said he knew of no other time the I.R.S. had challenged the 95-year-old association's tax status on political grounds.

Mr. Bond said that the association had a chilly relationship with Mr. Bush, who declined to speak at its last four annual conventions, and that black voters were worried that the problems that kept thousands of them from voting in 2000 could recur this year in Florida and elsewhere.

With association officials now immersed in efforts to register new voters and to make sure early voting proceeds smoothly, he said the I.R.S. request was placing new financial and personnel demands on the group.

The I.R.S. has asked it to provide a written response that includes detailed financial information about its 2004 convention, personal information about its 64 board members and relevant information about Mr. Bond's speech.

"Of course, we're concerned," Mr. Bond said. "I feel we'll be vindicated in the end because we have not violated any I.R.S. rules or regulations. But this takes a great deal of effort and money to defend and could take up to two years to resolve."