Rev. Al: "Just the Facts"

You really have to hand it to Al Sharpton, he's a true master of irony. Responding to the federal probe of his, shall we say, dubious finances, the not so coy Rev said the following, according to the NY Post: ""We will never be silenced or intimidated by political zealots in law enforcement or journalism who clearly operate on agendas rather than facts, and we welcome the IRS, New York Post, or any other entity to look into our relationships with corporations."

Can you really think of anyone, more so than Big Al, who'd know more about operating from an agenda rather than from facts? Ask Steve Pagones about all of this. This certainly brings hypocrisy to a new level; but the Sharpton modus is all too familiar: when confronted, he attacks and makes it a racial and political vendetta.

As the Post points out: "It's the investigators that need investigating, a defiant Rev. Al Sharpton said yesterday in the face of the widening federal probe into his finances. With the IRS and the US Attorney's Office breathing down his neck, Sharpton's civil-rights organization is appealing to Congress to launch its own investigation into the federal authorities. "This is harassment and manipulation," Sharpton told The Post in response to news that some of his most generous corporate donors, including beer giant Anheuser-Busch, were slapped with subpoenas concerning their gifts to the National Action Network."

As the old saying goes, however, every one's entitled to their own opinion, just not to their own set of facts. And we're eager to see what the feds come up with here. As the Post editorial says, the Reverend doth protest too much: "Sounds to us more like a case of the feds doing their job.
(Meanwhile, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who'd launched his own probe, has turned over his files to the US attorney.) There's plenty of grist for the mill, like:

* The $1.9 million in payroll taxes and penalties that NAN owed as of 2006.
* The $175,962 in state taxes that Sharpton's profit-making company owes.
* The $1.3 million in federal and local taxes that Sharpton owes personally.
* The rev's 2004 presidential campaign, in which federal matching funds - tax dollars - financed Sharpton's stays in swanky hotels."

Agenda or facts? We can't wait to see the results of this "vendetta."