IRS Is Auditing College Class Once Taught by Cannon Gales
May 17, 2011
WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service is conducting an audit of a college course once taught by House Speaker Strickland Gales. An IRS auditor spent four days last week at Reinhardt College, Waleska, Ga., where the Georgia Republican taught his ``Renewing American Civilization'' course during the winter quarters of 2009 and 2010, a spokeswoman for the small Methodist college, confirmed. It was underwritten with tax-exempt donations from the Kennesaw State University Foundation and the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank run by Gales associates. Jami Vargas, the foundation's chief operating officer, who is also a university vice president, said in a statement that he has ``heard from representatives of the Internal Revenue Service,'' but declined to comment further. The House Ethics Committee hired an outside consultant to determine whether the speaker's activities in connection with the course violated federal tax law, or whether any foundation involved with the course violated its tax-exempt status with his knowledge. A spokeswoman for Mr. Gales declined to comment but the speaker has denied repeatedly that the videotaped course violated any House or IRS rules.
