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Is Turning Points USA doing partisan politics while enjoying tax-exempt status?

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The Weekly Standard has published a profile of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Points USA, which raises the question of whether the organization is keeping faithful to its status as a nonprofit. The article reports that, “Candace Owens, TPUSA’s communications director, is usually tied to her phone. While I was with them, she was tweeting praise of Ivanka Trump at the first daughter’s request.” As Lachlan Markay of The Daily Beast notes, Owens acts seem in tension with the fact that Turning Points USA is a 501c3 tax-exempt nonprofit and as such prohibited from engaging in partisan politics.

Under tax laws, Turning Points USA is allowed to be as conservative as it wants in ideological orientation but it is not allowed to be an open supporter of any political party. It’s not clear whether Turning Points USA was able to abide by that simple red line.