Executive Director of the Americans United for Separation of Church and State Barry W. Lynn recently asked the IRS to investigate Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia for a possible violation of a 501(c)(3) organization intervening in a partisan political campaign. Lynn wrote in his February 22 letter that the university used its student newspaper, Liberty Champion, to advocate for the election of Scott Garrett to the House of Delegate in Virginia. Garret won the election by around 200 votes after returs came in from a precint heavily populated by Liberty University students. The letter also stated that Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. sent copies of Liberty Champion to Lynchburg residents and voters, that school administrators review the student newspaper is before publication, and that on election day Falwell ordered all classes to be cancelled and arranged for students to be transported to Lynchburg polling stations. Furthermore, a top university official drove around campus in a truck that clearly supported the Republican party and urged students to vote Republican. According to these and other allegations, Lynn wrote that Liberty University violated the campaign restrictions for exempt organizations and that the IRS should investigate.
Posted by Jenny Robertson, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.
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