{"id":2489,"date":"2012-03-07T12:13:13","date_gmt":"2012-03-07T17:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=2489"},"modified":"2012-03-07T12:20:26","modified_gmt":"2012-03-07T17:20:26","slug":"jay-sekulow-defending-tea-party-from-irs-assault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-defending-tea-party-from-irs-assault.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: Defending Tea Party from IRS Assault"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It is outrageous.<\/p>\n

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is demanding information from Tea Party groups nationwide – information that is clearly beyond the scope of legitimate inquiries – information that violates the First Amendment.<\/p>\n

We first wrote about this on our website earlier this week<\/a> and reported that\u00a0we’ve been contacted by dozens of Tea Party groups that are facing what can only be described as an intimidation campaign – an IRS demand that the groups provide information about the internal workings of their organizations – questions that are simply out of bounds. Questions like: How do you choose your members? What’s their background? Who do they associate with? What do they discuss?<\/p>\n

Take a look at some of these problematic questions for yourself. We’ve posted some of the most egregious questions taken directly from several of the IRS information demands. They are posted here<\/a>. I want you to know we are moving forward aggressively. We now represent nearly 20 Tea Party groups nationwide and have put the IRS on notice concerning our representation.<\/a><\/p>\n

And, in just two days, we’ve already seen more than 30,000 Americans sign on to our petition demanding that Congress conduct oversight hearings on this IRS action. We believe Congress needs to get to the bottom of what the IRS is doing. If you haven’t added your name yet, please do so here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As I told the New York Times<\/a>,\u00a0this intimidation campaign is as onerous as what the IRS did to the NAACP in the 1950’s and is simply unacceptable.<\/p>\n

Here are the facts. These organizations have followed the law and applied for tax exempt status for their activities as Americans have done for decades. The problem here is the IRS has gone beyond legitimate inquiries and is demanding that these organizations answer questions that actually violate their First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of association.<\/p>\n

The IRS information demands sent to the Tea Party groups are not in response to complaints of wrongdoing, but instead in response to applications by the organizations for\u00a0501(c)(4) tax exempt status.<\/p>\n

The IRS certainly has the authority to request certain information when processing applications for tax exempt status. But the truth here is this goes far beyond that legitimate purpose.<\/p>\n

We are committed to defending our clients and are prepared to take the IRS to court if necessary.<\/p>\n

I will keep you posted.<\/p>\n

Jay Sekulow<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is outrageous. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is demanding information from Tea Party groups nationwide – information that is clearly beyond the scope of legitimate inquiries – information that violates the First Amendment. We first wrote about this on our website earlier this week and reported that\u00a0we’ve been contacted by dozens of Tea Party…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[288,597],"tags":[776,200,599,598,602,601,600],"class_list":["post-2489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2012-elections","category-internal-revenue-service","tag-first-amendment","tag-free-speech","tag-freedom-of-association","tag-irs","tag-politics","tag-tax-exemption","tag-tea-party-groups"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Sekulow: Defending Tea Party from IRS Assault - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-defending-tea-party-from-irs-assault.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: Defending Tea Party from IRS Assault - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is outrageous. 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2489"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2498,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2489\/revisions\/2498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}