Today, the Startribune picked up the story. Similar to the response at the City Pages, I would expect to see some interesting LTE's to the Strib in the coming weeks.
Last week, a Washington watchdog group filed a formal complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against Hammond's Living Word Christian Center, which now has nearly 10,000 members, broadcasts weekly services to local and national television audience, and runs an array of businesses.
The group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, says the church gave loans to Hammond at favorable rates and created a sweetheart deal on a plane lease, possibly violating federal tax law that forbids insiders from benefiting from a charitable organization. But church officials said they are confident that they are complying with tax laws.
Meanwhile, some religious leaders and fellow evangelical ministers are criticizing Hammond's unapologetic embrace of wealth -- from his two planes to his luxury cars and high-end condos. In recent weeks, Hammond also has angered Muslims for controversial remarks about Islam.
Hammond is also under fire for his public support of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, whom he publically supported at a church service this past fall. In fact, Hammond stated that he was going to vote for Bachmann. Unfortunately, he was not aware that he didn't even reside in Bachmann's district.
We have reported on Hammond's troubles previously.
Joe over at Minnesota Campaign Report has a great post up about the Strib story and his previous writings on Hammond as well!
I am looking forward to seeing how this story moves now that "main stream media" sources have picked up on it.
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