Attorney General’s Office
Attorney General Scott Pruitt is seeking information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) on promises the agencies made to investigate religious organizations and churches as part of a settlement agreement with an atheist organization.
The Attorney General’s Office has learned that the Freedom From Religion Foundation is claiming it has reached an agreement with the IRS and DOJ to settle an ongoing federal lawsuit by the organization. The lawsuit sought IRS enforcement of prohibitions against churches endorsing specific political candidates.
Attorney General Scott Pruitt has sent letters to both the IRS and DOJ seeking information on the settlement agreement, communications between the federal agencies and the atheist organization, and documents outlining the policies and procedures of both agencies for reviewing, evaluating and determining whether to initiate church investigations.
“The founders of our country devoted the First Amendment of our constitution to ensuring the right to exercise our faith. The First Amendment also enshrines our right to free speech which at its core protects our ability to engage in the political process. At the intersection of those two fundamental rights lies the right of religious organizations to encourage their members to engage in the political process in a manner consistent with the core tenets of their religions. It’s alarming to think the IRS and DOJ have entered into an agreement to investigate religious organizations to settle a lawsuit with an atheist organization bent on destroying those rights,” Attorney General Pruitt said.
Click here for a copy of the DOJ letter and click here for a copy of the IRS letter.
