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WHAT'S NEXT FOR PAT ROBERTSON? by Paula Xanthopoulou (8/1/96)

While the Christian Coalition gets burned by an FEC lawsuit and very bad
publicity, Pat Robertson is fiddling around in the Middle East. He is playing
statesman and news anchor by interviewing Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasir Arafat
for his Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). He is also taking part in a
long-planned CBN tour package/evangelical program celebrating Jerusalem 3000.
But before departing, Robertson -- the founder, president and real boss of
the Christian Coalition -- mounted a bitter attack on the IRS during last
Thursday's 700 Club broadcast (7/25/96). 

In a lengthy "Newswatch" piece, CBN reporter Dale Hurd said the "no agency of
government is as powerful or hated as the IRS." The IRS was said to
"effectively extort money" for the government and as being "out of control."
Various cases were highlighted. The segment closed with commentary by
Robertson which included: "Talk about Big Brother and the Gestapo! That's
simply horrible. Uh, a number of the IRS agents that I have encountered, at
least in the civilian type of thing, have been extremely competent people.
Ah, but I've met some in the tax-exempt branch that are so incompetent it
just absolutely curls your hair. The bias is extraordinary. And, uh, their
lack of knowledge of the tax code and so forth is just extraordinary. The
amount of money they can waste is in the millions and millions and millions
of dollars if they come into a taxpayer."

Could Robertson be feeling the pressure of no decision by the IRS on the
Christian Coalition's long-pending petition for (501)(c)(4) status? Or the
growing scrutiny of that organization's partisan political activity? Or was
he simply laying more groundwork for complaint against what he knew was
forthcoming from the FEC and eventually the IRS?

Certainly Robertson remembers the questions that forced him to close down his
Freedom Council circa 1986. That non-profit foundation -- founded in 1982
ostensibly to encourage the participation by Christians in politics! --  was
criticized for "using its money and personnel to promote the presidential
aspirations of Pat Robertson." The Freedom Council had been pressured to file
for a local tax exemption which would have necessitated "a report disclosing
how its money was raised and spent." (San Jose Mercury News, September 26,
1986)

At the time, there were also questions about use of CBN funds for political
activities. According to a subsequent Associated Press report  (October 18,
1987), the CBN had "funneled as much as $8.5 million into tax-exempt
organizations that did early groundwork for Robertson's presidential bid,
according to federal records and knowledgeable accounts." The organizations
named were the Freedom Council and National Freedom Institute (same deal, new
name)--both organized under section (501)(c)(4) of the tax code and
recipients of grants and unpaid loans from the CBN.

Some months later, the Washington Post reported that the Robertson campaign
responded to a court order by turning over 1986 fund-raising and financial
records "...as part of a long-running IRS investigation into the campaign's
operations. The IRS is probing whether the former televangelist illegally
used millions of dollars from his tax-exempt network to finance his
campaign...Three former Freedom Council officials told NBC news last night
they now believe the group was a front for the campaign; all have been
interviewed by the IRS." (April 12, 1988)

In a recent book called "Dirty Little Secrets," political scientist Larry
Sabado and Wall Street Journal reporter Glenn Simpson contributed this:
 "..on May 11, Robertson dropped out of the presidential race, announcing
that his campaign would be converted into a new political action committee.
The controversy over his campaign financing activities quickly subsided. As
of the writing of this book -- more than seven years after the events in
question took place -- there has been no know resolution of the IRS inquiry."
(P. 109)

What happened? The Freedom Council (and subsequently the National Freedom
Institute) came and went, Pat Robertson ran for president and then dropped
out, and the Christian Coalition was born. Deja vu all over again?

A recent, lengthy Associated Press report by Jim Drinkard (July 8, 1996)
examined the Christian Coalition's pending tax status as relates to the
issues of skewed voter guides, sale of mailing lists to conservative
candidates at below market price, and Robertson and Ralph Reed's recent
meeting with Bob Dole. But there's more.

What about the various statements by Pat Robertson on The 700 Club attesting
to political action and support of specific candidates (i.e. Bob Dole and
Mike Huckaby). What about the many statements by Christian Coalition
Executive Director Ralph Reed that seem to position him as some kind of
spokesman for the Dole campaign or for the conservative wing of the GOP? What
about the highly visible deal-making by Reed, most obvious at the recent
Texas  Republican Convention? Doesn't it matter that Robertson and Reed are
Virginia delegates to the GOP national convention? Moreover, Texas Christian
Coalition Chairman Dick Weinhold is not only  a Texas delegate, but
vice-chair of his delegation and committed to Bob Dole. Robertson, Reed and
Weinhold are three of only four members of the Christian Coalition's national
Board of Directors. Is there really no conflict of interest in the above,
well-documented partisan activities?  Haven't Pat Robertson & Company gone
way too far? 

The FEC allegations may ultimately not stick in the courts. The Christian
Coalition issued this statement: "This is a completely baseless and legally
threadbare attempt by a reckless federal agency to silence people of faith
and deny them their First Amendment Rights."  And yesterday's  700 Club
reported that the Christian Coalition would recruit the "finest election law
team ever assembled" to fight the suit. They'll make it a First
Amendment/religious bigotry issue --  ignoring the fact that they simply did
not play by the rules and want to hide what/who they really stand for.

But in any case, the most important ramifications of the FEC suit are
ethical, not the legal. The Christian Coalition has built its case around
moral meltdown and Christian ideals. On fealty to the Carpenter from
Nazareth, as Ralph Reed is fond of saying. On a holier than thou attitude,
not "politics as usual." And now the American public can see what many people
have known for a long time: That the Christian Coalition says one thing and
does another. That it really is not non-partisan. That it does support
specific candidates and work for the GOP. That it has deigned to lie about
its activities in return for political power. That Emperor Pat Robertson
again has, for all intents and purposes, no clothes. Just one of his own
special pacts with You Know Who.

Only one question remains. What's next for Pat Robertson?

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