The NAACP announced Monday that it is refusing to cooperate with the Internal Revenue Service as the agency investigates whether the nation’s oldest civil rights organization violated its tax-exempt status by criticizing President Bush. The IRS announced its probe weeks before November’s presidential election. NAACP’s interim president Dennis Hayes said the probe “was clearly motivated by partisan politics and intended to divert us from impartial voter registration.” The IRS launched the investigation after NAACP Chairman Julian Bond gave a speech criticizing President Bush’s war, economic and educational policies. The IRS claims Bond may have violated federal regulations that bar certain tax-exempt organizations from engaging in political activity.