Political reports reveal that hundreds of Virginia’s black churches are expected, in the coming few days, to show a video recorded by Kamala Harris touting leftist Terry McAuliffe in the state’s race for governor.
Article by Bob Unruh from our premium news partners at WND News Centers.
And there could be trouble over that. Trouble for the churches that conceivably could lose their tax-exempt status.
It’s because federal law says, as non-profits, they must not “participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”
“If this is indeed played in churches (as opposed to simply posted on internet sites), it does appear a premeditated and unambiguous violation of the federal law governing churches as non-for-profit institutions,” charged Jonathan Turley, a nationally recognized legal scholar who known as a constitutional expert and frequently provides commentary on issues in the news.
He’s also a professor at George Washington University and has served as counsel in some of the best-known cases of recent years, including representing at the Rocky Flats grand jury in Colorado, and representing Area 51 workers.
The issue is Harris’ video:
NEW — More than 300 Black churches across VA will hear from @KamalaHarris btwn Sun. and November 2 in video message that will air during morning services as part of outreach effort aimed to boost @TerryMcAuliffe.#VAGOV
Video first obtained by CNNhttps://t.co/vaefXtWqUe pic.twitter.com/l8re0KUkN1
— Eva McKend (@evamckend) October 16, 2021
She and other progressives are pulling out the stops to boost McAuliffe in his race against businessman Glenn Youngkin because polls show the race to close to call, where McAuliffe had counted on an easy victory.
The Washington Examiner said Harris’ move “has raised eyebrows regarding the legality of bringing political campaigns into house of worship.”
The report said Harris’ video is “only one part of McAuliffe’s religiously minded ‘Souls to the Polls ‘ media blitz.”
Turley wrote, “The problem is the ‘Johnson Amendment’ makes such political pitches in churches a violation of federal law. Making matters worse, this knowing violation occurred just days after the filing of a complaint against White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki for clearly violating the Hatch Act in using the White House press room to support McAuliffe.”
He explained federal law states:
Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.
The IRS itself explains the possible consequences: “Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.”
Turley explained Harris’ message is “a direct political pitch to be played in hundreds of churches.”
Image by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
New Conservative Network Seeks Crowdfunding Help
They say we have to go big or go home. We’re trying to go big and bring the patriotic truth the the nation, but we need help.
Readers may or may not realize that over the past year, we’ve been bringing more conservative news and opinion outlets under our wing. Don’t take our expansion as a sign of riches; all of the “acquisitions” have been through sweat and promises of greater things to come for all involved. As a result, we’ve been able to bring together several independent media sites under a unified vision of preventing America from succumbing to the progressive, “woke,” Neo-Marxist ideologies that are spreading like wildfire across America.
The slow and steady reopening of America is revealing there was a lot more economic hardship brought about from the Covd-19 lockdowns than most realize. While we continue to hope advertising dollars on the sites go up, it’s simply not enough to do things the right way. We are currently experiencing a gap between revenue and expenses that cannot be overcome by click-ads and MyPillow promos alone (promo code “NOQ” by the way).
To overcome our revenue gap and keep these sites running, our needs fluctuate between $3000-$7000 per month. In other words, we’re in the red and hemorrhaging.
The best way you can help us grow and continue to bring the truth to the people is by donating. We appreciate everything, whether a dollar or $10,000. Anything brings us closer to a point of stability when we can hire writers, editors, and support staff to make the America First message louder. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report and the other sites in the network going.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
Bitcoin: 32SeW2Ajn86g4dATWtWreABhEkiqxsKUGn
All ORIGINAL content on this site is © 2021 NOQ Report. All REPUBLISHED content has received direct or implied permission for reproduction.
With that said, our content may be reproduced and distributed as long as it has a link to the original source and the author is credited prominently. We don’t mind you using our content as long as you help out by giving us credit with a prominent link. If you feel like giving us a tip for the content, we will not object!
JD Rucker – EIC
@jdrucker
.jpg){kind=link}
It’s rather interesting that Kamala, a lawyer, doesn’t appear to know/understand the law that clearly states that churches allowing a political video during their Sunday services stand to lose their tax exemptions.
This is another perfect example of her being much less the gifted attorney she claims to be. Lord, please help us defeat this demonic administration.