ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 1996 TAG: 9609040114
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
The Internal Revenue Service is conducting an audit of the college course House Speaker Newt Gingrich taught for two years, officials at two Georgia colleges confirmed Tuesday.
The IRS division that audits tax-exempt organizations has contacted the Kennesaw State University Foundation and Reinhardt College.
``They said the focus would be an analysis of the course,'' said Marsha White, spokeswoman at Reinhardt. Gingrich conducted his ``Renewing American Civilization'' lectures at Reinhardt, a private college, in 1994 and 1995. He began the course at Kennesaw in 1993.
The audit is separate from a House ethics committee investigation of Gingrich's course, but there's a common thread: whether the course, which was financed by tax-deductible donations, met IRS rules for tax-exempt activities.
James M. Cole, an outside counsel hired by the ethics committee, last month submitted a still-secret preliminary report on his investigation of Gingrich's course.
He was asked to determine whether the speaker's activities in relation to the course violated federal tax law, or whether any foundation involved with the course violated its tax-exempt status with Gingrich's knowledge.
Gingrich has denied repeatedly that the course ran afoul of IRS or House rules.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 36 linesby CNB