Sharpton associates receive subpoenas

NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- The Rev. Al Sharpton accused the FBI of racial motivations Thursday after agents served subpoenas seeking financial records for his New York civil rights group.

The FBI and Internal Revenue Service are looking for information about Sharpton's 2004 presidential campaign, The New York Times reported. Four of the subpoenas were delivered in the early morning to the homes of four female associates of Sharpton.

"Every major civil rights leader I can think of -- from Martin Luther King Jr. to Marcus Garvey to Adam Clayton Powell -- has had to face this kind of harassment," he said. "I certainly am not in their league, but I certainly expected that that would become my lot."

The National Action Network also was asked to provide corporate records. Carl Redding, who told the New York Daily News that at least 10 people were subpoenaed, said Sharpton was not one of them.