IRS challenges Drake’s endorsement of Huckabee

BUENA PARK, Calif. — The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has opened an inquiry into an Aug. 11, 2007, “personal endorsement” of presidential candidate Mike Huckabee issued by Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church, Buena Park, Calif., on church letterhead. That endorsement was followed three days later by a similar announcement on a local radio program Drake broadcasts from the church building.

In a letter dated Feb. 5, IRS staff member Marsha A. Ramirez informed the church that the federal agency was opening “a church tax inquiry … because we believe it is necessary to resolve questions concerning your tax-exempt status as a church.” The letter included a lengthy list of questions about the endorsements.