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Without Walls Turns Over Financial Documents

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By BAIRD HELGESON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 1, 2008

TAMPA - Attorneys for Randy and Paula White, founders of Without Walls International Church and Paula White Ministries, today turned over financial documents to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

Grassley, ranking member of the Senate's finance committee, is asking the Whites and the heads of five other mega-ministries for financial and business information to make sure they aren't abusing their tax-exempt status.

The Whites submitted a cover letter and a spiral-bound document nearly an inch-and-a-half thick, said Jill Gerber, a Grassley spokeswoman. The cover letter emphasizes confidentiality of the submitted materials, she said.

"Sen. Grassley believes in making the public's business public while being reasonable about sensitive material that could lead to identity theft or other fraud," she said.

The attorneys described the material as the "initial production" of documents, she said. Grassley's office will be in touch with the Whites about the timetable for getting the rest of the documents.

On Nov. 5, Grassley sent letters to six ministries and gave them a month to answer questions about church expenses, use of donations and business practices. He said the church leaders' lavish lifestyles attracted his attention.

Others under review are Joyce Meyer Ministries, Benny Hinn Ministries, Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International, Eddie Long of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, and Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries.

The Whites and several of the other ministers failed to comply or dragged their feet.

Last month, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., joined Grassley's inquiry and gave the ministries until Monday to cooperate. The addition of Baucus, chairman of the committee, raised the possibility of subpoenas for those who don't comply.

Only Meyer has answered most of the questions; Hinn initially answered five of 28 questions, but submitted more documents and data. Attorneys for the Dollars in Atlanta challenged the senator to subpoena the information. Long, another Atlanta-area evangelist, indicated last week that the ministry will cooperate.

Once Grassley's office receives the information, staff will review the material to determine whether the ministries have abused their tax-exempt status.

Reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at (813) 259-7668 or bhelgeson@tampatrib.com.

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