A right-leaning nonprofit watchdog group has filed a federal civil suit to force the IRS to disclose documents and details about its monitoring of political advocacy by churches.
Judicial Watch filed its suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking information about the federal tax agency’s apparent coordination with the Freedom from Religion Foundation, an atheist non-profit that targets what it believes to be illegal religious activity in government and civil society.
The suit is the latest eruption in an increasingly hot debate in Congress, the news media and federal courts on whether the IRS or other federal officials have authority to regulate political expression by priests, pastors and other church spokesmen.
The First Amendment explicitly declares that “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion or the free exercise thereof; or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Judicial Watch asked the court to order the IRS to disclose:
• “Any and all records concerning, regarding, or related to communication between the IRS and the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) on the promotion of political issues, legislation and candidates by churches and other tax exempt religious organizations; and …
• “Any and all records concerning, regarding, or related to IRS monitoring of churches and other tax-exempt religious organizations to ensure that such organizations are not engaging in the promotion of political issues, legislation and candidates.”
The civil suit was filed Nov. 6, 2014, after the IRS failed to respond to an Aug. 4, 2014, Freedom of Information Act request from Judicial Watch for the documents.
The law requires federal departments and agencies to respond to FOIA requests within 20 days, but provides no penalties for them when they violate the statute.
Judicial Watch filed its FOIA after the IRS announced a July 18, 2014, settlement out of court with the atheist group. The tax agency agreed in the settlement to enforce its regulations that bar partisan political activity by tax-exempt groups.
The atheist foundation had sued the IRS in 2012, claiming it was not enforcing those regulations and citing what it said were multiple examples of prohibited advocacy by churches and church officials, including:
• “As many as 1,500 clergy reportedly violated the electioneering restrictions on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012. … The complaint also references ‘blatantly political’ full-page ads running in the three Sundays leading up to the presidential elections by the Billy Graham Evangelical Association.”
• “Green Bay Bishop David L. Ricken, who wrote an article on diocesan letterhead inserted in all parish bulletins about voting and choosing the president and other offices. Ricken warned that if Catholics vote for a party or candidate who supports abortion rights or marriage equality, ‘you could be morally ‘complicit’ with these choices which are intrinsically evil. This could put your own soul in jeopardy.’
• “Peoria Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, who, in an April homily, sharply criticized President Obama, referencing the 2012 presidential election, saying Obama was ‘following a similar path’ as Hitler and Stalin. Jenky said ‘every practicing Catholic must vote, and must vote their Catholic consciences.'”
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said “it is troubling that the IRS seems set to rely on a group of atheists to point them toward churches that might have criticized politicians. And it is even more disturbing that the IRS would violate federal law, The Freedom of Information Act, in order to keep secret its monitoring of Americans praying together in church.”
Go here to read the Judicial Watch suit.
Mark Tapscott is executive editor of the Washington Examiner.
