I have a disturbing report to share about the Internal Revenue Service targeting one of the most prominent and respected evangelical churches in the nation.
Sources tell me that First Baptist Church in Dallas was reportedly investigated after Dr. Robert Jeffress invited then-Vice President Mike Pence to speak at a patriotic celebration.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a notorious group of atheists activists filed a complaint and suggested the church had violated the Johnson Amendment.
“It is our understanding that Pastor Robert Jeffress endorsed candidates Donald Trump and Mike Pence during Pence’s visit to the church on June 28, 2020,” the FFRF wrote in a letter to the IRS.
Religion News Service reported that Jeffress made the following statement from the pulpit:
“Mr. Vice President, I know I probably should not say this, by my congregation knows that has never stopped me before. We are praying that when you finish your term in 2024, we don’t want you moving out of the West Wing, we just want you moving down the hall a few doors and continue to build on the legacy of the most faith-friendly president in history.”
The FFRF accused Jeffress of attempting to “intervene in an election, making it very clear to his congregants who he was endorsing in the 2020 presidential election.”
First Baptist Dallas did not receive any response or notification from the IRS until President Biden took office.
My source tells me that rogue IRS agents – who were known supporters of Barack Obama and Joe Biden – had intentionally probed the church and were responsible for the alleged investigation.
“I told the President that our church was the subject of an IRS investigation launched under the Biden administration that spanned several years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars due to complaints from the Freedom From Religion Foundation,” Jeffress wrote in a statement to RNS. “The case was ultimately resolved in our favor.”
First Baptist Church spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting the accusations, my source said. Thousands of dollars that could have been used for various ministries to spread the Gospel message.
President Trump told reporters that a number of other pastors had also mentioned they had been targeted by the IRS.
“They said, ‘Sir, I was targeted by the IRS, and the FBI came in, sir, and I’ve been going through Hell for years,’” the president said.
But the bigger issue is the Johnson Amendment. It must be repealed or modified. I wrote about this issue in my book, “Twilight’s Last Gleaming: Can America Be Saved?” Click here to read.
The message from the Internal Revenue Service, Democrats and the atheists is chilling: If they can do it to First Baptist Dallas they can do it to anyone.