Sharpton Lashes Out Against ‘Disrespectful’ Federal Tactics
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The Reverend Al Sharpton is railing against federal investigators, saying subpoenas issued in a round of pre-dawn house calls to several of his aides this week were retaliation for his organizing efforts.
Specifically, Rev. Sharpton yesterday accused investigators of targeting his organization, the National Action Network, in response to a march he led against hate crimes last month in front of the Department of Justice, and as he prepares to make an endorsement in the 2008 presidential race.
“It’s drama,” he said. “It’s a distraction.”
Rev. Sharpton, who ran for president in 2004, is being investigated for possible tax fraud and campaign finance violations after paying back $100,000 in taxpayer funds following the election, the Associated Press reported.
Rev. Sharpton said he did not know what the investigation was about, or why his aides had been targeted.
According to him, investigators arrived at the homes of up to 10 of his employees — including those of several secretaries, his press spokeswoman, Rachel Noerdlinger, and a former aide who stopped working for the organization 12 years ago — at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Rev. Sharpton called the timing of the visits “disrespectful,” adding that four of the employees served are single mothers.
“It’s outlandish to think that we have any financial documents in this case,” Ms. Noerdlinger said, noting that her son had been alarmed at the early-morning visit to their home.
Rev. Sharpton said the subpoenas were seeking National Action Network financial documents from two or three years ago. He said that the documents being sought would be in the possession of the organization’s lawyer and accountant, not the employees who were subpoenaed. Noting that Martin Luther King Jr. and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. also endured federal scrutiny, Rev. Sharpton said: “I’m used to operating under investigation.”
“It’s the kind of abuse that people in my community go through every day, which is why I fight,” he said.
The Associated Press said the case would be presented to a grand jury next month.
