AP Photo <\/p>\n
She is still under investigation for a separate tea party targeting matter. <\/p>\n
By John Bresnahan and Rachael Bade <\/p>\n
4\/1\/15 2:16 PM EDT <\/p>\n
Updated 4\/1\/15 5:09 PM EDT <\/p>\n
The Justice Department will not seek criminal contempt charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner, the central figure in a scandal that erupted over whether the tax agency improperly targeted conservative political groups. <\/p>\n
Ronald Machen, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a seven-page letter this week that he would not bring a criminal case to a grand jury over Lerners refusal to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March 2014. The House approved a criminal contempt resolution against Lerner in May 2014, and Machens office has been reviewing the issue since then. <\/p>\n
Story Continued Below <\/p>\n
Lerner and other IRS officials, however, are still under investigation by the FBI for the tea party targeting matter which is a separate probe entirely. <\/p>\n
Lerner cited her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself during congressional testimony on March 5, 2014, although then-Oversight Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said she had waived that right by giving an opening statement at a hearing 10 months earlier when she asserted her innocence. Issa wanted her charged by the Justice Department with criminal contempt of Congress for failing to answer questions about her role in the scandal. <\/p>\n
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DOJ: No contempt charges for former IRS official Lerner<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AP Photo She is still under investigation for a separate tea party targeting matter. Continue reading