IRS Targeting: Rev. Franklin Graham Says Ministry Was Targeted

After the Internal Revenue Service admitted thorough high-ranking official Lois Lerner that the tax collection agency was indeed targeting conservative and other similar groups, Rev. Franklin Graham admitted that his organization was a subject of the IRS' ire.

Graham, 60, the son of Samaritan's Purse co-founder Rev. Billy Graham, 94, said that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as well as Samaritans Purse were targets of the IRS' scrutiny. Franklin Graham, who now leads both Christian nonprofits, said he believed the administration of President Barack Obama, a Democrat, was "targeting and attempting to intimidate" him.

Graham said his organizations' activities, which according to Politico included asking the electorate to back "candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles" during the 2012 election, were a reason for the IRS' alleged investigation.

The Grahams reportedly endorsed former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., for president in the 2012 general election and consider support for the nation of Israel a major tenet in their organization's code. Franklin Graham said the IRS recently "review"-ed the ministries' records.

Graham called the IRS' targeting of Samaritan's Purse "morally wrong and unethical-indeed some would call it un-American", in a letter he wrote regarding the news of the targeting of hopeful-non-profits with conservative leanings.

In addition to the Grahams' ministries, Lori Lowenthal Marcus, president of 'Z Street', a pro-Israel organization, told FOX's Greta van Susteren that the IRS has been holding out on completing her organizations' application for 501 c)3 status for a number of years. Marcus suggested the delay was due to a lawsuit the organization brought against the IRS in regards to how the bureaucracy was handling the application.