Focus on the Family chairman James Dobson has been cleared of accusations that he endangered his organization's nonprofit status by endorsing Republican candidates in 2004, an Internal Revenue Service audit found.

The IRS said Dobson, who backed President Bush's re-election bid, was acting as an individual and not on behalf of the conservative Christian ministry. The influential child psychologist announced the findings Monday on his national radio show.

At least two liberal watchdog groups - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Colorado Springs-based Citizens Project - filed complaints with the IRS in 2005 against Dobson. The complaints alleged that Dobson improperly used Focus on the Family resources to support candidates and urged investigations into the group's tax-exempt status.

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In offering candidate endorsements, Dobson emphasizes he is speaking as an individual. IRS rules do not prohibit representatives of nonprofit groups from wading into partisan politics as long as they don't do it under the banner of their organizations.

Critics, however, contend that Dobson and Focus on the Family are inextricably bound. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington complaint, which ran more than 90 pages, charged that Dobson capitalized on his identification with Focus on the Family and "used Focus on the Family resources for his political activities, giving the understandable perception that he was acting as chairman and founder of Focus on the Family."

Officials did not return calls seeking comment Monday morning.