FLASHBACK: WilmerHale Gets Obama's Church Off IRS Hook (Wilkins now chief counsel for IRS)

The American Lawyer ^ | May 22, 2008 | Zach Lowe

[maggief]

Lawyers from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have won the dismissal of an IRS case against United Church of Christ, Sen. Barack Obama's denomination.

The IRS initiated an investigation early this year after a speech by Obama at a 50th anniversary celebration of the church last June. It was a reference by Obama to his presidential candidacy in a talk otherwise focused on faith that caught the agency's attention.

(snip)

Obama has been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago -- a UCC congregation -- for more than 20 years. The church has been in the headlines for several months now as the congregation lead by the controversial Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

WilmerHale was retained after church officials interviewed several firms, according to partner William Wilkins. "We were so interested in the case we offered to do it pro bono," Wilkins says.

[piasa]

bump

[Cindy]

Thanks for the reminder, Piasa.

[ncfool]

Oh Oh.... Rev Wright and Chicago is back in the game.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3026877/posts

Congressional investigators are probing the highest echelons of the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C., in connection with the agency’s targeting of conservative groups, according to documents obtained by National Review Online. Those documents, provided by an IRS employee who asked to remain anonymous, indicate that those being asked to provide computer data to investigators include the agency’s chief counsel, William J. Wilkins, and both of his deputies. The chief counsel is one of just two political appointments at the IRS made by the president.

Investigators asked the IRS to gather all data from the computers of several employees throughout the agency, and their request, according to the source, was broadened late last week to include over a dozen employees in the chief counsel’s office. They include chief counsel William Wilkins as well as his deputy chief counsel for operations, Christopher Sterner and his deputy chief counsel for technical matters, Erik Corwin. Investigators are also mining the computer data of two lawyers in the chief counsel’s office responsible for procedures and administration, and nine others who oversee tax-exempt and government entitites. In all, the hard drives of 19 lawyers in the chief counsel’s office are being turned over to investigators.

[Cindy]

Thank you for the ping ncfool.

[lodi90]

Bump.