IRS reviews tax-exempt status

The Internal Revenue Service reviews the tax-exempt status of the NAACP, citing concerns over a speech given by Chairman Bond at its annual convention in Philadelphia. The IRS tells the association it has received information that 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. Bond defends his remarks:

This is an attempt to silence the NAACP on the very eve of a presidential election. 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. It’s Orwellian to believe that criticism of the president is not allowed or that the president is somehow immune from criticism.