WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Kate Hinton, a Director of the National Legal and Policy Center and graduate of Harvard University, today urged Harvard President Lawrence Summers to avoid becoming a "public relations pawn in [Reverend Jesse] Jackson's continued campaign of self-promotion."

In her letter to President Summers, Hinton expressed empathy for the difficult situation the Harvard president finds himself in, but said Jackson's reputation "clearly and loudly precedes him" and that there was "no need, and never was any need, for a media showman like Jackson to be involved."

Hinton cited NLPC's filing of an Internal Revenue Service Complaint in early 2001 as an example of Jackson's lack of credibility. Jackson "comes to Harvard for his own purposes," wrote Hinton, "not to serve the interests of the faculty or students at Harvard University."

The National Legal and Policy Center made headlines in March of last year when it filed an IRS Complaint against Jackson's Citizenship Education Fund. NLPC asked the IRS to investigate and audit the nonprofit CEF because of apparent violations of federal requirements for tax-exempt status. Jackson responded by amending CEF's 1999 tax forms. The Complaint can be viewed at http://www.nlpc.org/gip/010228ir.htm.

NLPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and accountability in government through research, education and legal action.

Read NLPC's letter to Harvard University President

Read NLPC's IRS Complaint Concerning Citizenship Education Fund

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