Senators Grassley and Baucus Send Letters to Certain Televangelists (Updated)

The Des Moines Register is reporting that Senator Chuck Grassley said earlier today that he has sent a second round of letters to certain televangelists asking about spending in their tax-exempt ministries.  (For some background on this matter, click here.)  Here's more from the Register story:

Grassley told Iowa reporters in a conference call that the letters went out on Tuesday and will be publicly released later today. He said that two televangelists that have cooperated with his probe, Benny Hinn and Joyce Meyer, were not sent letters.

"They were carefully drafted and carefully redrafted," Grassley said of the letters.

Some of the ministers strongly objected to Congress asking questions, so Grassley said in the letters he has tried to re-emphasize the authority of Congress to oversee the Internal Revenue Service and review tax laws bearing on non-profits.

"Quite frankly, IRS doesn’t know everything," he said.

These letters should make for interesting reading.  They have not been posted on the Senator's website yet.   They may pop up there later today.  NOTE: See update for a link to the letters.

UPDATE:  Meanwhile, the Associated Press is reporting a part of the story that is at least as important: "Sen. Max Baucus of Montana joined with Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley in urging cooperation from four ministries. . . . Letters to the ministries from Grassley and Baucus set a March 31 deadline for the groups to turn over the requested information."  Baucus serves as the chair of the Senate Finance Committee.  As AP explains, "[h]aving Baucus on board is crucial because Grassley, as the committee's ranking Republican, would need him to seek subpoenas forcing answers from uncooperative ministries. " 

The press release and the letters from Grassley and Baucus are posted here.  I've updated the title of this post accordingly.

ANOTHER UPDATE:  From a related story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Dean Zerbe, a lawyer who served the committee until going to work for a group of tax specialists Houston last month, said the letter is a clear signal to the ministries who refused to send documents that Baucus backed the effort and to "pull their socks up" and cooperate.

The letter says Grassley and Baucus hope to avoid "resorting to compulsory process."

"That is committee speak for saying that we are going to subpoena," Zerbe said.

Baucus and Grassley together have the power to issue subpoenas for the committee.