Norquist group faces challenge for Abramoff ties [View All]

Norquist group faces challenge for Abramoff ties

By Andy Sullivan
Reuters
Tuesday, March 14, 2006; 4:59 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An ethics watchdog asked the U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday
to revoke the tax-exempt status of a conservative group for helping disgraced lobbyist
Jack Abramoff secretly fund an anti-casino campaign that benefited his clients.

Americans for Tax Reform also violated its nonprofit status by taking a cut of the money
it handled, said Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW.

"This thing that they did where they basically took in money from tribes, laundered it and
skimmed some off the top had nothing to do with their purpose" as an anti-tax organization,
CREW executive director Melanie Sloan said.

A spokesman for Americans for Tax Reform declined to comment but said he would have an official
reaction later.