Pastor Wiley Drake of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, CA has reportedly been cleared by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of allegations that he violated the ban on election intervention. Drake made it public that he was being investigated by the IRS in February for endorsing presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in a press release on his church's letterhead and on his radio program.

The IRS letter announcing that he is no longer under investigation, and did not violate the tax code, was provided to local media. The letter states; "the press release date August 11, 2007 was a personal endorsement by the church's pastor . . . sent from Rev. Drake's personal email account and sent to personal acquaintances and was not sent to any of the church's congregants. . . . Based on these facts, the IRS has concluded that Buena Park First Southern Baptist Church did not engage in prohibited political campaign intervention in violation of the requirements of IRC section 501(c)(3)."

Drake's counsel was from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and is part of ADF's "Pulpit Freedom Sunday".

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), an Arizona nonprofit, has started an effort to encourage ministers to "use their pulpits to preach about election candidates this September." 501(c)(3) nonprofits, including churches, are prohibited from endorsing or publicly opposing political candidates or intervening in candidates' elections. The group would like if one sermon prompts an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigation that becomes a court battle, leading towards an outcome ruling the tax provision unconstitutional.

The ADF press release states; "The new initiative will equip, protect, and defend pastors who wish to exercise their First Amendment right to openly discuss the positions of political candidates and other moral and social issues from the pulpit. Participating pastors across the country will deliver a sermon along these lines in their own churches Sept. 28."

The Wall Street Journal reports; "Alliance fund staff hopes 40 or 50 houses of worship will take part in the action, including clerics from liberal-leaning congregations. About 80 ministers have expressed interest, including one Catholic priest, says Erik Stanley, the Alliance's senior legal counsel."

Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) responded with a press release denouncing the initiative, saying the "Religious Right group's plan to ask churches to violate federal tax law on electioneering is deplorable."