Franklin Graham: IRS targeted our evangelical groups, too

Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham and the president of the family’s evangelical association, said in a letter to President Obama that the Internal Revenue Service targeted them, too.

In September, the IRS advised of a “review” of the activities of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and of the family-run Samaritan’s Purse, an international humanitarian group, Mr. Graham said, Politico reported. The review was for the 2010 tax year.

Now — in light of recent IRS admissions of targeting conservative groups for additional scrutiny — Mr. Graham thinks that review was actually a White House-initiated attempt at “targeting and attempting to intimidate us,” he wrote in his letter to the president, Politico reported.

Specifically, Mr. Graham said he didn’t think the administration appreciated the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s urging of followers to use biblical principles to choose candidates. So they sent the IRS to stir up some trouble, he charged in the letter, Politico reported.

“While these audits not only wasted taxpayer money, they wasted money contributed by donors for ministry purposes as we had to spend precious resources servicing the IRS agents in our offices,” Mr. Graham wrote, Politico reported. “I believe that someone in the administration was targeting and attempting to intimidate us. This is morally wrong and unethical — indeed, some would call it ’un-American.’ “