Complaints Filed Against Hannity's Freedom Concerts And North's Freedom Alliance

By Ellen  |  News Hounds  |  View story in the original context
PUBLISHED: March 29, 2010

Sean Hannity and Oliver North may have to open up the books from the Freedom Concerts now and let the public know what they've not been willing to tell us so far: Just how much money from those pricey"Freedom Concert" tickets actually goes to charity? Raw Story reports, "Allegations about a charity connected to a key Fox News personality have floated across the web for years, but less than two weeks after a conservative blogger took aim, a nonpartisan watchdog group that tends to focus on liberal issues has filed a complaint." (H/T Alex)

Raw Story continues: 
Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW) and Votevets.org have filed a complaint charging the Sean Hannity's Freedom Concerts with deceptive and illegal marketing practices.

The concerts, hosted by Freedom Alliance, raise funds to provide scholarships and services to disabled veterans and their families. According to an email distributed by CREW, the complaints "allege Lt. Col. North's Freedom Alliance has violated its charitable tax status by engaging in prohibited political activities. In addition, CREW's complaints charge Mr. Hannity's Freedom Concerts has engaged in deceptive and illegal marketing practices by suggesting that all concert ticket sale revenue goes directly to scholarships for children of killed and wounded service members."

We have long been asking how much money from Hannity's Freedom Concerts actually goes to beneficiaries and we have found it troubling that neither he nor North ever seem to provide a public accounting beyond offering some aggregate figure like, "Since 2003, over $10 million has been raised." I've never been able to find a public ceremony where a check is handed over and when a ticket is purchased, there is no statement advising what portion of the (mostly) $100+ ticket price goes to charity.