The Dallas Morning News reported yesterday that the Internal Revenue Service has cleared the Niemoller Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, of improper partisan political activity when it funded the Texas Restoration Project that hosted six "Pastors' Policy Briefings" before the 2006 elections. Texas Freedom Network had charged that the the Briefings were disguised attempts to get out the vote for Texas Governor Rick Perry's re-election campaign. (See prior posting.) However the IRS ruled that the conferences merely encouraged congregations to "vote their values," and did not encourage supporting a specific candidate. A Liberty Legal Institute press release announced the IRS ruling.
UPDATE: The full text of the IRS letter to the Niemoller Foundation is available from BNA Daily Report for Executives (subscription required).
