One of the famous “reverends” without a church could be in trouble again — BIG trouble:
Subpoenas for Al Sharpton’s aides
By GREG B. SMITH and LARRY McSHANETeams of federal agents swooped down on up to 10 close associates of the Rev. Al Sharpton Wednesday, demanding the flamboyant clergyman’s financial records since 2001.
Sharpton’s former chief of staff said he was roused at his Harlem home about 6:30 a.m. by two FBI agents who handed him a subpoena to bring the records to a federal grand jury the day after Christmas.
Several employees of Sharpton’s National Action Network also got wakeup subpoenas to testify before the Brooklyn panel, the rabble-rousing reverend’s lawyer said.
The FBI and IRS are investigating whether Sharpton improperly misstated the amount of money he raised during his 2004 White House run to illegally obtain federal matching funds, a source familiar with the probe said.
Sharpton, although forced to return $100,000 in matching taxpayer funds after an investigation two years ago, denied any wrongdoing at the time.
The feds are also looking into allegations of tax fraud, including whether Sharpton commingled funds from his nonprofit National Action Network with several of his for-profit ventures, the source said. …”
(Snip!)
“… “It was like a sting or a raid,” said Carl Redding, who spent eight years as the head of Sharpton’s staff. “They converged on everybody.” …
(Snip!)
“… Personal finance records from Sharpton and his wife, Kathy, were also sought by investigators. …” – New York Daily News
What? No race card yet? No statement? We’re talking about Al Sharpton here, after all — a man who is NEVER at a loss for words, which makes me wonder why the proverbial “cat” has his tongue this time.
While I won’t indict the man yet, I will say the first clue to the possible existence of a skeleton or two in the closet could be when a self-labeled “reverend” has no church to preach in and no congregation to preach to. The second clue is when a so-called “reverend” does or did once have a church and a congregation but goes around spewing homophobic rants, much in the same way Ted Haggard and Mike Huckabee often did, or do, respectively.
While it has been a quiet and boring Oval Office race thus far, particularly without the colorful rantings of “Reverend” Sharpton on the other side of the aisle to add a check and balance to the homophobic rants of the former Baptist minister from Arkansas, Mr. Sharpton has again found a way to make the headlines during a Presidential race…
And for breaking up the monotony for a few minutes, I thank the good “reverend” for that much.
UPDATE — 10:36 AM:
Oops — I spoke too soon. Before I could even publish this article, Al Sharpton SPEAKS (CBS11TV.Com):
The Rev. Al Sharpton angrily denounced reports
Federal Investigators Subpoena Financial Records, Employees In Sharpton ProbeNEW YORK (AP) ― The Rev. Al Sharpton angrily denounced reports Thursday that federal authorities are investigating his 2004 presidential bid, suggesting that the Justice Department was retaliating against him for his civil rights advocacy.
“I have probably been under every investigation known to man and I can’t remember a time that I’ve not been under investigation,” Sharpton said at a hastily called news conference at the Harlem headquarters of his civil rights organization. …”
Yep — it’s the good ole’ race card again.
SHOCKING.
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Other bloggers weigh in, H/T to MemeOrandum: Big Head DC; Michelle Malkin; Hot Air
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12:50 am on December 14th, 2007 1
funny photoshop as usual.
10:00 pm on December 14th, 2007 2
That said, it *is* suspicious in that the Bush Administration has a long history of politically-motivated prosecutions, to the point where at least one prosecutor was fired for refusing to launch a grand jury investigating a Democratic candidate for governor in order to discredit him before the election. So whenever a strident critic of the Bush Administration suddenly has Feebs falling out of the bushes around him, I don’t care what color the guy is — my question is, is there a political motive involved?
It’s just sad that it’s come down to this, where we have to question whether the Feebs are doing political hackwork for the Bush Administration even when we don’t like the guy they’re investigating, but given the Bushevik’s track record in this regard, a penguin has to wonder…
– Badtux the Wondering Penguin