March 12, 2008
By Jeff Goldblatt

CHICAGO — Barack Obama's controversial pastor and the church he's served for 36 years may be in hot water over statements he has made from the pulpit in support of the Illinois senator's run for the White House. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. preaches that he follows the righteous path, but when it comes to the federal tax law, his Trinity United Church of Christ may have crossed the line.

Wright praised Obama from the pulpit on Jan. 13 in what was billed as his final sermon at the Chicago church. "There is a man here who can take this country in a new direction," Wright said during his sermon, according to recordings obtained by FOX News. It was not the first time Wright appeared to endorse Obama, who was baptized at Trinity United, has been an active member of the church for two decades and receives spiritual mentorship from Wright.

The title of Obama's second book, "The Audacity of Hope," was taken from a sermon by Wright. During a Christmas sermon, Wright tried to compare Obama's upbringing to Jesus at the hands of the Romans. "Barack knows what it means living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people," Wright said. "Hillary would never know that. "Hillary ain't never been called a n*****. Hillary has never had a people defined as a non-person.

In his Jan. 13 sermon, Wright said: "Hillary is married to Bill, and Bill has been good to us. No he ain't! Bill did us, just like he did Monica Lewinsky. He was riding dirty." "It's pretty clear an indirect endorsement of Barack Obama — that's not something you're supposed to do according to the tax code," said Andrew Walsh, a professor at Trinity College who specializes in religion in politics.